Parasitic
by dream7me7to7sleep
Summary: Greg and Allison House are back from their honeymoon, and still basking in the glow of newlywed bliss. But what happens when a Christmas surprise makes a very abrupt change in their lives. Is the fun over? Or just beginning? THIS STORY IS DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

Title: Parasitic

Disclaimer: Do I own House? Nope, can't say that I do. Would I like to? HELL YAH!

Summary: Greg and Allison House are back from their honeymoon, and still basking in the glow of newlywed bliss. But what happens when a Christmas surprise makes a very abrupt change in their lives. Is the fun over? Or just beginning? Sequel to Contagious (Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT read this without having read Contagious! If you do, you won't know any of the characters or really... Anything- So check out Contagious first and come back to this!)-Andi A/N- I changed my mind when overcome by the X-mas spirit, so I began the story in a different place than I originally intended to. Don't worry, you'll get it ;) Chapter One: It's A Wonderful Life

Allison sighed as she woke up beside her husband. Sitting up in bed, she smiled at the sight of Kane lying on the foot of the bed. Greg's arms encircled her waist, as he slowly awoke. "Morning." He mumbled, burying his face against her hip.

"Mm, merry Christmas." Allison smiled at him, turning in his embrace and sliding down to lie beside him.

"Christmas?" Greg sighed, "That would mean, we've been married for officially, two months and four days."

Allison laughed, but quickly stopped, and rubbed her stomach, "Oh jeez." She felt the churning of stomach acid, "This is getting ridiculous." Allison groaned, covering her head with a pillow.

"Acid reflux?" Greg pried the pillow away.

"Ever since we came back from Kyoto, nothing has agreed with my stomach." She mumbled, pulling the pillow from her face, "Maybe it was the change in my diet, or I don't know." Allison managed to push back the urge to vomit.

"But you loved it there." Greg insisted, "I didn't do a bad job picking our honeymoon location, right?" He teased, kissing the nape of her neck and placing his hand over her stomach, as if to try and help her settle it.

"I loved it. All the temples, and you speaking Japanese?" She laughed, "That was amazing all by itself. Discovering how even more brilliant my husband is than I first thought." Allison gave him a soft kiss.

Nodding, Greg gave her rear a soft pat, "We need to get up and moving if we're going to meet your family at Stephen and Morgan's new home. It's going to take forever to drive there."

Pouting, Allison braved herself to exit the warm cocoon of their bed.

-------------------------------------

Greg glanced over at Allison as they drove to Stephen's house. She had been acting very funny all morning. Not funny haha. Funny in a "something's not right" sort of way.

Rubbing her pectoral muscle, Allison grunted, making Kane, who was in the back seat, set her face on the back of her seat sympathetically. Now she really regretted not wearing a bra, but the way the snug fitting sweater dropped at the shoulders she would be showing straps and strapless bras always hurt her sides! Damn style!

"What's wrong?" Greg asked, finally too curious to keep it to himself.

Allison shrugged, dropping her hand back to her lap and leaning her head against the cold pane of the passenger's side window. "Nothing." She replied hollowly.

"Uh huh." Greg looked back at the road, trying not to divert his attention from the road that was now dusted in a new layer of snow.

With a tiny whimper, Allison flopped back into her seat, rotating her hips as if to put to rest a dull ache in her lower back.

Greg sighed, catching the movement out of the corner of his eye. "Ally?"

"I just don't feel right." She replied, feeling ready to cry from frustration. "Left here." She pointed at a road. Greg turned and she pointed to a dark green house. "Right there."

Greg pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. Walking over to her side, he helped her out of the car and placed his hand on her lower back, applying pressure on either side of her lower spine just above her sacrum. Allison leaned against him, feeling a welcomed relief from the ache in her back. She must have contorted herself when she was sleeping.

"Go inside and sit down. I'll bring the gifts in." Greg told her. Allison nodded and headed towards the door as Greg went to the side door and released Kane from the back seat.

Grabbing the gifts from the trunk, Greg was grateful that Allison had put them in a bag so they would be easier to carry.

"Hello, Cameron family." Greg called as he passed the door.

"Hello, House family!" Morgan bounced excitedly. "I'll take those." He offered, taking the bag of gifts from Greg and running to place them under the tree. "You're just in time. Bryce brought "It's a Wonderful Life" and we're going to watch it before dinner." He explained. "And then, it's gift time!" Morgan was as giddy as a toddler on... well.. Christmas day.

"Great." Greg followed the hall to the kitchen and saw the Tv room to his left. "This is a nice house." He told Stephen.

"Thanks." Stephen was brushing his hands on a napkin. "There's a vegetable tray if you're a little hungry, and chips and dip in the living room." He gestured to the small card table that was against a wall in the tv room.

"Your parents aren't coming?" He noticed the lack of Mr. and Mrs. Cameron.

"No, mom's not big on traveling on holidays... Freaks her out." Stephen rolled his eyes. "But they're going to be dropping by around March." He explained. Greg nodded, spotting Allison already flopped on the couch. "Hey," he nudged her foot and she lifted them so that he could sit down before plopping them in his lap. Greg smiled at her gently. She looked ready to fall asleep already.

"Hi, Greg." Loli smiled from a spot on the loveseat, where she sat with her husband.

"Hi, Loli, how are you?" Greg asked, running his hand over Allison's leg.

"Fine- Oh! Hi, Kane. Yes, yes, sloppy kisses." Loli tightened her lips as Kane licked her face. She tilted her head up to get a few laps under the jaw as she continued talking to Greg, "So, what's wrong with my little sister?"

Greg shrugged, "She hasn't been sleeping very well lately because of her upset stomach. She just hasn't been right since around the time we got back from Japan. And her back's been killing her too."

"Aw, my poor baby sister. You don't think you caught something do you?" Loli asked.

Allison gave a weak shrug as Bryce came in with his son in his arms and started the movie. The smell from the kitchen was putting her stomach in knots.

"Here, Ally, I made you some peppermint tea." Stephen offered her the mug. Allison smiled gratefully as she accepted the hot tea. As she sipped it, her stomach settled a little, and she didn't feel so much like she was about to throw up all over the floor. Amazing what a little tea can do...

Together, the family watched the movie, enjoying the classic. At some point, though, Allison fell asleep, only to be awoken when the movie had ended and they were ready to eat dinner. "I'm not hungry." Allison mumbled, lying on the couch limply. She didn't want to move, every limb feeling like lead.

"Come on." Greg helped her sit up. "Maybe a little food will make you feel better." He coaxed, holding her hand as she stood up slowly. Allison sighed, leaning a large amount of her weight against him.

As they sat around the dinner table, Allison sipped another mug of tea. Though her nausea had decreased, she didn't feel like it coming back full force. She nibbled on a crescent roll as everyone dove into a piece of meatless lasagna. After she had a little food in her stomach, she felt the queasiness dissolve and began eating the meal that was in front of her. The food didn't smell so repulsive as she began eating it.

"Feeling better?" Greg asked sarcastically.

Allison nodded as she ate a bite of lasagna.

"Slow down." He warned, and Allison obeyed.

Conversation broke out, now that everyone was in a good mood, and soon it was like every other holiday. Allison felt guilty that she'd brought down the holiday cheer with her nausea. Still, she couldn't quite figure out why she had felt so ill.

She'd been feeling this way for weeks now, and though she'd love to blame it on Japan, she still had an inkling that it was something a little different. Sitting back, Allison rubbed her pectoral muscles, and as she did, she froze. Silently belittling herself, Allison wondered how a doctor could be oblivious to such ques.

Keeping her realization to herself, Allison went back to socializing with her family.

---------------

Greg kept side glancing at Allison as they drove home, and he knew that she was aware of his curious looks because she was looking at him, wondering why he kept looking at her.

"Are you feeling better?" Greg finally asked as they exited off of the main highway. She was rubbing her stomach like it was bothering her, but her gaze was contemplative.

"Yeah." She smiled softly, leaning her head against the window. Allison wanted to tell him she was almost positive she was pregnant, but she wanted to wait until they got home and she could take a pregnancy test. Luckily she had kept the second test that had been included in the box when she thought she was pregnant before.

"Ally-" "I'm fine, Greg." She promised. "How much longer until we're home? I need to pee."

Greg laughed, "About another ten minutes." He answered.

Allison smiled and closed her eyes against the cool window pane. When she opened them again they were parking by the apartment building and she felt a jolt of anticipation rush through her. Getting out of the car excitedly, Allison ran as quickly as she could, bolting for the apartment. Greg nearly slipped on a patch of ice in the road trying to keep up with her as she ran to the door. "Ally!" He called out. "Ally, your presents."

Giddily, Allison waved him off as she continued for the door. "Come on!" She called out to him.

"What's your hurry?" He finally caught up to her at the elevator. "Are you giving me Christmas sex tonight? Cause we have a few hours before Christmas ends." Greg leered at her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Allison bit her lip, a smile tugging the edges of her lips. As they entered the elevator she began to wonder. Should she tell him now? Should she wait until they got to the apartment? Should she wait until after she took the test?

Excitement getting the best of her, Allison flung her arms around Greg's neck, "I think I'm pregnant." She declared.

Greg's jaw dropped, "What?"

Allison felt the giant balloon in her stomach begin to deflate. "I... I think I'm pregnant?" She felt unsure now, she'd thought he was going to be happy!

Grinning wide, Greg pulled her tighter to him, "Do you have a pregnancy test?" He asked. "Or were you going to sneak off and take it without me again?"

Allison's heart lifted. "So that was a good shocked expression?" She double checked.

Greg nodded as the elevator dinged that they'd arrived on their floor, "Let's go see if we made a baby." He took her hand and walked as quickly as he could to the apartment.

Greg was pacing outside the bathroom door, "Aren't you done yet!?" He called, waiting for her to get the test started, "I thought you said you had to pee!"

"It's hard to pee when someone's yelling at you while you're on the toilet!" She yelled out, feeling too tense under pressure. "Can't you shut up for a minute!?"

"The test responds in 3 minutes! I'll miss a whole minute of waiting!" He answered in the same yell. "I remember when they took 20 and women had to wait a week after they missed their period... By which time, women already figured out they were pregnant!" Allison laughed on the other side of the door and Greg heard the toilet flush. "Can I come in now!?" He asked excitedly.

"Ye-" Greg burst into the bathroom.

"ah."

The test was sitting on top of the sink as the two sat on the tub looking at Greg's watch. Allison was biting her lip. Greg was tapping his foot.

"Five, four, three, two, one!" They said excitedly in unison before they stood up and looked at the little plastic wand.

Two pink lines.

"I'M PREGNANT!" Allison screamed, flinging her arms around Greg. He planted kisses all over her face, squeezing her tightly to him. "I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant!"

Leaning his forehead against Allison's, Greg smiled wider than he could ever remember. "When do you think we did it?" He asked, trailing his finger's down her spine.

Allison was beaming, "It could have been our second go under the piano..."

"Or in the shower."

"Or-" "I don't mind where it was." He told her breathlessly, "I'm just happy that it happened."

Allison planted a soft kiss on his lips. "We have so much to do..." She pulled back with wide eyes. "We need to turn the second bedroom into a nursery, we need a crib-"

"Yes, yes, we'll need a bunch of stuff, but tonight..." He began leading her from the bathroom into the bedroom, "Tonight, I want to make love to you." Greg pushed her onto the bed, slowly towering over her until his body covered hers.

"Mmm, I like the sound of that." Allison grinned as Greg began pulling her clothes aside.

Pulling up her shirt slowly, Greg planted feather light kisses on her stomach, following the freshly exposed flesh up her chest. Allison helped him pull the shirt off completely, and flung it off to the darkened corner of the room. She wrapped her arms once more around his neck, pulling his lips to hers. Greg let his tongue trace over her bottom lip before waging war against her tongue. With a laugh brimming in her mouth, Allison pulled away and let him burry his face against her throat. Nipping and sucking the tender flesh, he left a dark hickey just beneath where he knew most of her shirt collars covered.

Allison moaned as he trailed kisses further down, arriving at her breasts. She groaned in appreciation as he carefully kissed the over sensitized mounds. Loving a doctor had its benefits, he knew how to take care of her...

Sighing his name, Allison closed her eyes, rotating her hips against his body as he went lower.

Greg undid her pants and pulled them off of her body, kissing his way back up her long legs. Allison rotated her hips as he came closer to her sex, a heated anticipation coursing through her blood. Her back arched slightly when he placed a gentle nip on her inner thigh, a soft moan catching in her throat.

His tongue caressed her swollen nub, making her sigh in rapture. Greg ran his hands up her thighs, spreading them wider as he enveloped her clit with his mouth. Allison moaned and rolled her hips as he flicked his tongue over her sensitive flesh. Nerve endings were set on fire as her receptive body felt every caress of his hands and every stroke of his tongue, making her feel like she could tumble over the edge at any second.

As Greg's fingers gently glided into her slick entry, Allison cried out and bucked her hips upward. Her juices coated his fingers, making them slide into her even faster. Using his hands to send her over the edge a second time, not even letting her come down from her first climax, Allison screamed his name loud enough for him to wonder if the neighbors were now awake.

Sliding up her body, Greg broke contact only to lower his pants and position his cock over her quivering sex. Allison wrapped her arms over his neck, urging him to enter her. Abiding to her wishes, Greg thrust in slowly, letting her feel ever inch of him fully. He steadied her hips to keep her from arching and drawing him in any faster than he wanted her to.

Allison whimpered, needing him to fill her completely. She wanted all of him, but he denied her.

With another cry, Allison shook in his embrace until he was halfway in. Drawing back, Greg noted, with some amusement, that Allison was not pleased with his early withdrawal. Slowly, he began sliding back in, making her groan.

"Greeeeeg." She finally moaned, wanting him to stop the torturous administration.

Complying Greg thrust in completely, taking her off guard. Allison cried out in surprise and pleasure as he was suddenly pressed into her entirely. Beginning a rhythm, Greg released her hips and held her close to him as their hips rolled together. She was slick with excitement, allowing him to thrust freely within her.

Their combined movements took each other over edge until both were left panting for breath as they collapsed in exhaustion beside each other.

Tired and sated, Allison curled up beside Greg, her arm flailing over his chest as she quickly fell asleep. Catching his breath, Greg held his lover to him and smiled, letting his hand drift over her belly as he pulled the blanket up and over their bodies.

Waiting until her breathing had become rhythmic, Greg wriggled from her loose embrace and delved beneath the blanket he'd covered them with. He curled up against her body, placing his ear over her stomach. Though he would never hear the rapid heartbeat through the louder sounds of her body, Greg imagined the thrumming sound as he placed his palm over his growing child.

Being a doctor couldn't stop the sudden awe he felt knowing that he'd helped create the baby growing inside Allison's body. And being a doctor couldn't stop him from placing a gentle kiss over her stomach, despite the knowledge that the baby wouldn't feel it. Everything he'd known couldn't prepare him for the sudden protective surge he felt as he held Allison close to him.

Despite the fact that he still considered a fetus to be a parasite, Greg grinned, knowing it was _his_ parasite.

"Hello, my little cestoda." He said softly, "I'm your daddy."

TBC

A/N- Here we go guys! What I know you've all been waiting for! I know it seems abrupt, and I'm sure that many of you thought that I would start at the honeymoon, but yeah... Since when have I been _that_ predictable? Anyway, I'm not quite sure how long this fic will be, it's gonna be another roller coaster, and don't expect the speedy updates you had with Mentor! Hehe, that was a little creative exercise, and it was not meant to hinder the production of the sequel, but it unfortunately did :O. But I enjoyed it, and therefore, I think the wait for Parasitic was well worth it!... Anyway-Review please :D-Andi


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Parasitic

A/N- Cestoda is a tapeworm for anyone who was left unaware, and the pecs are the pectoral muscles. If you still don't know where those are located, make flex the muscles the make you boobs bob. Congatulations, you've found them (though that is not their primary function :P)-Andi

Chapter Two: Now What?

Unlike with planning their wedding, Greg and Allison felt a bit more secure with planning for a baby. The medical aspect of it at least.

Even though Greg was well aware that Allison was perfectly capable of making breakfast for herself, he couldn't help rolling out of bed before her to get their morning meal made.

Blinking her eyes open, Allison laughed at the sight of her husband carrying a bowl of cereal and a glass of apple juice for her. "Aww, you brought me breakfast!" She cooed, patting the bed and having him sit down by her as she ate the food he'd brought her.

"Wanted to make you something more filling, but I wasn't sure if the little guy could fight off potential food poisoning so early." Greg smiled. "No queasiness, or acid reflux this morning?" He checked.

Allison shook her head, "Nope, not yet." She laughed, "But it hits me whenever it wants. We need to seriously consider marking a petition for it to be written into all medical books as "whenever sickness" instead of that _lie_ of it only being in the morning."

"It doesn't say _only_ in the morning, it says _typically_ in the morning." Greg tapped her nose as she finished the cereal and he took the bowl from her.

"What, did you read up on it last night while I was asleep? Brushing up on your Pre-natal?" She laughed, but at the look he shot her; one that said "how did you know that!?"; she quickly stopped laughing. "You really did start reading up on it while I was sleeping, didn't you?"

She padded across the floor, following him into the kitchen, "I just thought, we should probably be as prepared as possible, and as doctors, we have an upper hand." He smirked, setting the bowl in the sink and leaning against the counter to look at his wife, before reaching out a hand to circle around her waist. However, he failed to tell her that before rolling out of bed that morning, he had placed a chaste kiss on her still flat, firm tummy and greeted his child with a "good morning".

"You're adorable." Allison sighed, wrapping her arms around her husband and burying her face into the crook of his neck. "I love you."

"Mm, love you too." House nipped her earlobe. "I'm going to enjoy watching you get fat."

Allison pulled away, jaw agape, "What a thing to say!" She gave him a little shove.

"All big and round with my _love child_." He continued to tease relentlessly.

"I'm not going to get that big!" Allison pouted, though she rubbed her stomach self-consciously.

Pulling her back to him, Greg kissed her throat now, "We're going to have to tell Cuddy today. You can't go anywhere near radiology, you can't do a lot of things actually." His brow furrowed slightly. "Hmm..."

"I don't like your "hmm" face. "Hmm" face means my life is about to end as I know it." Allison looked at her husband with slight trepidation.

"Rachel is your lead 'gal in the department right?" Greg checked with his wife.

"... Yeah... Why?" Her eyes narrowed, suspicious of her husband's plot for the next, roughly, 36 weeks.

Sitting down on the couch, Greg thought for another moment, "I was just thinking that... Maybe you should just stick with the desk work that accompanies being a department head. You know? Decrease the amount of patience you see, and just take it easy."

"Honey, I'm pregnant, not in cancer remission." Allison pointed out, sitting next to him on the couch as Kane came trotting in.

Smiling slightly, Greg pulled her closer, "I know, but working in a hospital can be stressful, and I don't want you over doing yourself. You're going to be tired enough as it is, and I don't want you wearing yourself out."

Allison's eyes narrowed, "Mmhmm, this coming from the guy who puts his life on the line every chance he can get?"

"I'm not the one growing a person inside of me."

"No, you're not, but I need you to stay healthy so that you can take care of me." She put on her big, doe eyes, melting his heart immediately, "Just don't do anything stupid." She cuddled close to him, knowing that she'd already convinced him to take it easy himself. "I need you." Her eyes shut, and Greg watched an expression of concentration consume her features.

"Breakfast coming up?" He asked, and grimaced at her nod as she placed her hand over her stomach and tried to quell the rising contents of her digestive tract.

Standing up quickly, Allison bolted for the bathroom and quickly relieved herself of her morning meal. Greg was by her side in moments, pulling her hair from her face.

"Thanks." She spit into the toilet and closed her eyes. Straightening up, she leaned against him slightly before making absolutely certain that she was through before flushing the basin clean. Brushing her teeth, Allison looked at her husband, "I'm not going to enjoy this part very much." She said weakly, scrubbing her tongue, and effectively triggering her overactive gag reflex. Hunching over over the sink, she heaved up a bit of residue stomach acid and brushed her teeth again. Gargling some mouthwash, Allison looked at her husband in the mirror.

"It'll be okay." Greg tried to reassure, but being just as new to the real life experience of pregnancy, he wasn't quite sure. The doctor in him knew that women varied in their symptoms. Some had it easy, while others went through hell, and his heart ached, hoping that she'd be one of the lucky ones and that he wouldn't have to witness her turmoil.

Closing her eyes, Allison took a deep breath before lacing her fingers with his and tugging him back towards the living room. "I'm so tired..." She commented, flopping down and letting Greg's arms wrap around her as he sidled up behind her on the sofa.

"Do you want to stay home today?" He asked, running his fingers through Allison's hair.

"No, I'm gonna need to save my sick days for when I really need them."

"Ally-"

"I'm fine." She insisted.

"Okay." He sighed, shaking his head, "We need to start getting ready for work then."

"In a minute." Allison let her eyes close, just enjoying the comfort of being held in such a fatigued status.

"Just remember, anytime you need a break, or a nap or anything; just come to my office and catch some rest on the couch." Greg continued to stroke her hair.

"Okay." She mumbled, already falling back asleep.

As his wife lulled between wakefulness and sleep, Greg began to consider letting her pass out and sneaking off to work without her. Unfortunately, he was all to aware of the fact that she could catch a cab and still come into work, and all that would have been accomplished would be himself earning a spot on the couch to sleep that night. With a sigh, Greg gave her a little jostle, waking her entirely from her catnap.

"Mmm, that extra couple of minutes really helped." She stretched. Greg laughed and stood up, helping Allison to her own feet. Making their way to the bathroom, they showered together, hands wandering ever so slightly over damp skin. "Taking advantage of me in my weakened state." Allison mumbled as Greg's hands drifted southward, tickling sensitive flesh and feigning innocence.

"Better believe it." He gave her a slight hug as his hands drifted across the rest of her body.

"I hope this is what I have to look forward to for the next eight months." She laughed as he turned off the water and they clambered out of the shower.

"Eight?"

"I did the math in my head. I should be at about four weeks."

"Hooray for period math." Greg toweled her off after wrapping his own towel around his waist.

"I don't want to wait another month to get my first ultrasound!" He could hear the giddiness of his wife's voice.

With a bit of a laugh in his voice, Greg laced an arm around her waist, "I'll write you out a prescription for your prenatal vitamins when we get to the hospital." He changed the subject, already plotting in his head.

Biting her lip, Allison thought for a moment, "Greg... I don't want to tell anybody yet... I mean, I know we have to tell Lisa, but..."

"That's unusual." Greg said as he pulled on his boxers and scanned the floor for a somewhat clean pair of jeans. "You not wanting to announce our life status at the soonest possible moment."

Flushing slightly, Allison went through her own drawers to dress for work, "It's just that..."

"You don't want people treating you differently." Her husband pointed out as he found his jeans at last.

"I knew you'd understand that."

"Oh no, I absolutely, _loved_ when people tried to hold doors for me when I walked around with my cane." Kane's head shot up from her new spot on the bed, "Not you." Kane settled her head back down.

Allison laughed, "You're so in tune with me." She sighed, as she walked over to her husband, her half naked body enticing him more than he would like for so early in the morning.

Adjusting her askew bra strap, Greg gave her lips a gentle caress with his own, "Can't hide it forever though."

"Just for a little bit." She pleaded, "We don't _need_ an OB right now anyway."

"I'm not going to lie, prenatal is not really my expertise." Greg pointed out as they finished dressing and headed out to walk Kane before work.

"Do you think she'll be okay with a baby?" Allison bit her lip as Kane walked around with them towards the park.

"I don't see why not, she loves your nephew." Greg looked at his wife.

"Yeah, but Danny doesn't keep Kane awake at all hours of the night with high pitched wails, and he doesn't distract our attention from her constantly." Allison seemed to become more and more uneasy as she thought about it, "I don't want to.. To have to..."

"NO!" Greg stopped walking, "You are not going to make yourself emotional, now stop it." He said firmly. "Kane will be fine."

The dog watched her owners, the whole time through her walk and when they left her at the apartment before disappearing to work, the dog sat at the door for a long moment. Finally, Kane went about catching her morning nap.

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Walking into PPTH, Allison self-consciously wrapped her coat tighter around her body. She knew that she shouldn't feel so paranoid, and that no one would know just by looking at her. After all, she'd have to say something for anyone to know, and that was the last thing she planned on doing. Still, her hands clamped the coat tighter.

"Relax." Greg murmured to her, noticing her actions. "I'm going to talk to Cuddy, I'll drop by your department after you're done in the clinic." He gave her a small, brief kiss before disappearing.

Making his way to his nemesis's office, Greg didn't bother knocking, merely flinging the door open, "I need to talk to you." He said, flopping into the chair across from Lisa's desk, completely disregarding the fact that she was on the phone. She held up a finger and finished talking before hanging up.

"I know!" Cuddy slammed down the phone.

"You do?"

"Yes, I know you're going to kick and scream after what happened last time I brought you along for a lecture, but this is really important." Cuddy assured, "After Ca-... Allison got sick on your last out of town trip; I know that you don't want to-"

"Quiet... Wait... Out of town trip?" Greg's mouth went agape, "I can't go out of town right now. Ally's-"

"She's not sick again is she?" Cuddy's eyes narrowed, ready to do a thorough exam of Greg's wife if he claimed that she was.

"Not persa..." Greg tapped his finger.

"Then-"

"She's pregnant." He said.

Cuddy was quiet for a long moment, "Then you came here to tell me that... Not because Wilson gave you a head's up on the lecture again?"

"Yeah, pretty much." His eyes narrowed, "And I'm not going anywhere-"

"House, this is important." Lisa pleaded, "We're looking for a new sponsor, after the disaster with Volgler." She explained, "It's non-pharmaceutical, and-"

"I'm not _going_." Greg said firmly. "She needs me here."

"I'm sure Allison can manage a week without you." Cuddy growled, already knowing that she was probably going to lose this argument.

"A WEEK!" House stood up quickly, "I'm NOT going to be away from her for a week!" He began to pace.

"Greg," Lisa began calmly, finding it strangely cute how protective he was, "the first trimester isn't-"

"But she's been so sick." He said weakly, not caring that he couldn't be his normal, bastard self when it came to matters involving his wife. Greg would be nice if it meant his love's comfort.

Lisa tapped her finger as she thought, "We'll be leaving January 27th." She said once more, in a firmer tone.

"But..." House drooped back into his chair, "Then I'll be gone the week of her first ultrasound."

Lisa's heart clenched. She couldn't... Shaking her head, she reminded herself that it was her obligation to not show favoritism towards her employees, especially Dr. Gregory House. "I can't change the date." It hurt her to say it.

"But-"

The door burst open and Cuddy's secretary squealed, "Dr. House fainted in the clinic!"

Lisa couldn't say anything before Greg jumped around his chair and bolted out of the door. Taken aback, merely by the fact that a year ago there would have been no way that her star doctor could have done that; Lisa stood and followed him as quickly, and with as much dignity as she could muster.

"WHICH ROOM?" Greg shouted as he ran through the clinic.

"Exam room two!" The nurse at the station called back. He could see a patient standing outside the door.

"Were you in there with her?" Greg demanded, making the shaky older woman blanch.

"Y-yes."

"What happened when she fainted?" His voice was harsh.

"She just stood up from her chair, wobbled and fell down."

Turning into the door, Greg found a nurse fanning Allison while another took her blood pressure. "Out."

"But-" Both nurses saw the look in Dr. House's eyes and quickly made themselves scarce.

"I'm okay." Allison mumbled from her spot on the floor as her husband dipped down to sit next to her.

"I know, but..." Greg kissed her hairline, "Scare me to death." He murmured, letting his eyes shut softly. "Can you stand?"

Allison nodded, and with his help the rose together slowly, "I can't believe-"

"You stood up too quickly."

"I know but-"

"Ectopic." Greg nodded, thinking the same thing. "Come on. We're doing an ultrasound right now."

"But-"

"I'll do it. If everything is clear, we can stay quiet." He assured, walking with her out the door and out of the clinic, drawing a few stares as they made their way towards the elevators. Cuddy was just rounding the corner and caught up with them.

"Where are you going?" She asked quietly.

"We're doing an ultrasound. I want... Need to make sure nothing happened when she fell or that we don't have an ectopic pregnancy." He whispered just loud enough for Lisa to hear.

"I'll come with." She saw the glare Greg gave her and quickly amended, "Just to guarantee your privacy. I won't be in the room." She assured. "Go to your office and draw the blinds. I'll bring the machine there."

"People will notice you coming to my office with an ultrasound." Greg leered.

"Don't worry." Cuddy ran off.

For once, doing what he was told to by Cuddy, Greg did what she asked, and just lay on the couch with his wife in the darkness as they waited.

"You haven't been feeling any sharp pains right?" He was trying to assure himself that he was making a big deal over nothing.

"I don't think so, I've only known I was pregnant for a day now... But I don't remember any pain before either." Allison shook her head, trying to quel her own fears.

The door opened and Lisa came in, pushing a cart with a white sheet drawn over it.

"I'm sure that didn't draw any stares." Greg rolled his eyes, accepting the tube of lubricant that Cuddy pulled from her pocket. "Thanks for remembering the lube-"

"Finish that statement, and I'll shove this machine up your ass without lube." Cuddy glared and quickly turned around and left the office.

With a sigh, Greg turned to look at his wife who sat anxiously on the couch. Pushing the machine towards her, he set it up before pulling his desk chair over along with a box of kleenex. "Ready?" He asked gently, smiling when Allison nodded and pulled the tail of her shirt up. Opening the bottle and squeezing a healthy portion of lubricant over her belly, Greg saw her skin goosepimple from the coldness of it. Sliding the wand around, he found his destination and turned the screen so that only he could to look at. He knew that she would recognize and ectopic pregnancy, and if that was the case, he wanted to tell her gently, rather than have her recognize the fate in black and white.

"Well," Greg took a deep breath, "your tubes look clear."

"That sounds so weird. I feel like I'm getting my car tuned up when you say that."

"Cars don't have incubators." He pointed out, swivelling a bit further down, "Now let's check on the little one. Make sure you didn't traumatize the poor thing." Allison rolled her eyes.

"I probably just fainted 'cause my blood sugar dropped. I haven't been able to hold anything down." She pointed out.

"Or..." Greg's jaw had gone slacken.

"Oh GOD!" Allison cried, "If you say twins, I'll KILL YOU."

Shaking his head, Greg just looked at her, "No, you're not carrying twins." He assured, "But it this could very well explain why you're having trouble holding things down."

TBC

A/N- Ectopic is when a fertilized egg attaches to tissues outside the wall of the uterus. Usually in the fallopian tubes. It's dangerous, and is usually aborted very early in pregnancy. (Just for anyone who didn't know.)-Andi


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Parasitic

Chapter Three: Well...

"But not twins." Allison couldn't stand the suspense.

"No, not twins." Greg looked at his wife and then tilted the monitor at her, "Triplets."

"WHAT!?" Allison screamed, yanking the monitor so that she could see, effectively shifting Greg's position over her abdomen and losing the shot. He found it again quickly and Allison couldn't help but use her index finger to find each of the little bundles of cells. "Oh... My... G..." Words failed her and Greg watched his wife take a deep breath before counting them again.

Greg could feel his own heart hammering in his chest. He hated himself for feeling so helpless, and not being able to say something to make Allison feel more secure. Unfortunately, before he could find his voice, Lisa Cuddy burst in.

"What's wrong? I heard Allison yell." Lisa looked pale.

"Three." Allison whimpered, staring at the monitor.

A bit of him felt hurt at Allison's forlorn voice and the way her eyes were looking at him, as if to say "YOU DID THIS TO ME!". After all, it wasn't _all_ his fault.

"Uh..." Lisa looked hesitant to say anything at first, "Three... embryos?" She felt faint just asking.

"I didn't know my boys were that good." Greg shrugged, "Apparently age doesn't slow 'em down."

"Shush!" Allison was staring at the screen with complete concentration. Greg figured she was just counting again, "Honey, look how close these two are compared to the third." Allison pointed.

Greg leaned forward and looked, "Yeah, but it doesn't mean they're identical. If they are, then they look like a di/di." He squinted his eyes.

"Wait, but... Three?" Lisa leaned heavily against the door, her mind was swimming. Leave it to Gregory House to make it nearly impossible to get him on this lecture. She couldn't possibly tear him away from Allison now! He'd never forgive himself if she ended up developing hyperemesis gravidarum while he was away and needed to be put on fluids. After all, it was Allison's first pregnancy, and she was already experiencing fainting spells caused by low blood sugar, an unfortunate result of malnutrition thanks to morning sickness. Groaning, Lisa finally agreed, "Fine. You're not going, but let me see that ultrasound." She sighed, hating that she had to confirm that there were indeed triplets, and that they hadn't plotted this out.

"Going where? What?" Allison was confused and her stomach was spiraling out of control from the mere scent of Cuddy's perfume. If she stayed around it much longer she was going to vomit.

"There's a conference in Florida, and House was suppose to speak at it. Unfortunately, I can't pull him away from you now." Cuddy sighed, pulling Allison from her momentary nausea induced train of thought. "Can I see the shot now?"

Turning the screen, Greg showed his boss, and Lisa just stared for the longest time before sitting down on the couch next to Allison, "Wow."

"I love it. Three doctors staring at an ultrasound like it's the most captivating thing in the world." Greg snarked, though he didn't tear his eyes away from the monitor either.

Standing rather quickly, Lisa straightened her skirt before clearing her throat, "I'll, umm.. Leave you two alone." The medical director quickly evacuated the office.

When the door closed, Greg was quiet while he and his wife continued to stare at the screen. If he thought enough about it, there wasn't anything very impressive going on. Nothing that he would find personally interesting, at least. The three bundles of cells didn't have heart beats yet, or any physical forms that were over all impressive. Yet, he couldn't tear his eyes away. "Three." He didn't realize he'd exhaled the single word.

"You're not... Mad are you?" Allison asked meekly.

Finally dragging his eyes away from the ultrasound, Greg looked at Allison, "Why should I be?"

"Three babies in the apartment... There's gonna be pretty big changes." She gave a weak smile, as if she too were still processing the information. Then her eyes watered, her lip quivered, and voice clenched on a sob.

"Ally-"

"I'M GONNA GET HUGE!" She wailed, burying her head into the crook of his shoulder. Greg reached for the box of tissues, grabbing a bunch and handing her one while he wiped up the slick mess on her tummy. Allison wiped away tears with her kleenex.

"Is everything okay in-" Foreman came in through the door conjoined with the department. "Oh..." His eyes took in the sight of a crying Allison and the ultrasound. "I heard you fainted... So you're pregnant, huh?" He leaned against the doorframe, looking at his boss and his former co-fellow.

"Don't tell Chase, or everyone from the hospital to the Queen is going to know." Greg warned.

"Not a problem." Foreman shook his head. "Congratulations." He looked a bit uncomfortable, "I'll get that thing outta here for you guys." He gestured at the ultrasound machine.

"Thanks." Allison murmured as she pulled her shirt back down all of the way. When Foreman had also gone, Allison turned to sit on the couch properly and make room for her husband, "Baby, what are we going to do?" She bit her lip.

Greg's hand went to her cheek, and his thumb tugged at the bottom lip she was worrying between her teeth. "We'll get it figured out. We always do."

"I know..." Allison took a deep breath, "But I'm so... Confused." She rubbed her eyes.

"Take a nap." Greg kissed her lips gently, "And I'll scrounge up some digestible food for you." He assured as he stood.

"Okay." She smiled childishly and curled up on the couch once more, giving a squeak when Greg gave her rear a gentle pat.

--------------------------

Lisa Cuddy was in deep thought when a knock came at her door, "Come in." She called.

Wilson entered, shutting the door behind himself, "I heard Allison fainted." He sat down in the chair across from his boss.

Every time Wilson was in the same room as her, Lisa got a sudden shiver down her spine, a shiver that had grown stronger since House's wedding. She'd kissed hims that night, an action she didn't think appropriate for her to act on considering that she was his boss. Though she would have loved to blame the her high level of alcohol consumption that evening, Lisa knew better. She would have kissed this gentle, kind man whether she'd drank or not.

"Y-yes." She stammered, forcing herself from her revery. "She's been ill lately." Cuddy was aware of the couple's want to keep the pregnancy low key for a while, not to mention, it was their choice who found out when. However, she suspected that Wilson would be informed shortly, merely because of his close ties with the two of them.

"Oh." Wilson frowned.

"That's not why you came in though, is it?" Cuddy leaned back in her chair.

"No." Wilson sighed, "Lisa, I just... I wanted to tell you that... Even though I know you're my boss, and everything that happened at-"

"That's enough." Lisa butted in. "What happened that day is-"

"I know-"

"But-"

"It was-"

"Wonderful." Lisa sighed dreamily.

Wilson smiled slightly as he relaxed into the chair. Knowing that she felt the same way was comforting. "Why can't we? I mean, House and Cameron were together when he was technically still her boss."

"This is different, Wilson."

"I know. You're head of the entire hospital and fraternizing with the subordinates is frowned upon. But... Is that really a reason to deny yourself what you want?" He coaxed.

Frowning now herself, Cuddy contemplated this. "James, I can't-"

"Okay." He stopped her before she could word her dooming statement.

--------------------------

Chase wandered idly through the hospital, not quite sure what he should be doing. The holiday had left them surprisingly short on work, and all that was to do was work at the clinic and try himself at challenging crossword puzzles. Part of him debated on finally working up the nerve to call the girl from Allison and House's wedding. He wished that she'd remained in the area longer, but Marah had quickly disappeared back to Florida after the wedding, leaving behind only a scrap of paper with her number, and a very nice memory to reflect upon.

With a sigh, Chase went towards his boss's office, hoping that a new case had presented itself. When he pushed back the door, however, he was surprised to find Allison asleep on the couch. Wondering if he should wake her up, he was quickly distracted when the door swung open.

"Get your british ass out of there." Greg hissed when he saw Chase standing in his office with a blank look on his face.

Scurrying out, Chase hissed back at his boss as the door closed, "What's Cam- Allison doing sleeping on your couch!?"

"She's sick, leave her alone." He said shortly.

"She shouldn't be here then." Chase crossed his arms.

Narrowing his eyes, Greg responded, "This is a hospital, sick people are everywhere, and my wife doesn't change that."

Gulping at the glare his boss gave him, Chase quickly made himself scarce.

"Moron." Greg pulled out the snack food he'd been hiding in the folds of his button down and went into his office. Entering, he sidled up next to his wife and coaxed her back into wakefulness. "I snuck out and got you some saltines." He murmured, helping Allison turn over so she could try and eat something.

Taking the crackers, Allison smiled at her husband before nibbling the corner of the salty crisp. "Mm, salt." She smirked, as she finished the cracker, and reached for another. "I just can't believe..." She shook her head, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Three."

"I've been thinking." Greg tapped his finger on his knee, "We'll need more space with three kids..." Though he hated too much change, he knew that it would happen whether he was willing to accept it or not. "And I'm sure Kane would love a yard..."

Smiling at her husband's offer, knowing full well that he loved where they lived now, Allison wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love you." She sighed, closing her eyes. "We don't have to move right now." She pointed out and then laughed, "The second room in the condo is big enough for three for a couple years. We have time."

"I know, but it's something we should think about." Greg ran his fingers over her cheek.

"Do mine ears deceive me? Is my husband, Dr. Gregory House, actually considering... _planning_ for the future?" She giggled.

"Quiet. Tell anyone, and I may have to blab all over how you're carrying not one, not two, but _three_ little molecular, half carbon copies of me."

"If there's a girl in here, I'm gonna tell her you said that when she's older. No offense, love, but I don't think a girl wants to look like her daddy." She saw the glazed look that came over his features when she said that. "Aw, are you looking forward to being called "daddy"?" She teased.

Pulling his wife into his lap, Greg kissed her deeply, "Who's your daddy?" He stuck his tongue out at her childishly.

"The minute this vomit feeling stops being so damned persistent, I'm dragging you to our supply closet."

Greg clucked his tongue, "Too many chemicals. You're not going anywhere near that closet."

"Oh please!" Allison rolled her eyes. "We won't be in there that long!"

Greg raised an eyebrow at her as if to say, -"I don't last long enough for you?"-

"I mean... Oh hell." She wrapped her arms around his neck once more, nuzzling against his throat, "I just mean, I won't have damaging exposure."

"I don't care."

"Greg-"

"If I have to, I will handcuff you to the bed until you go into labor, if it means keeping you from getting injured and, or sick." He said firmly.

"Mm, handcuffs... There's something we haven't done." She rolled her hips against him.

"Okay, my little temptress," Greg pulled her off of his lap, "you should make an appearance in your own department some time today." He pointed out. Allison pouted, but got up from the couch, none-the-less.

Giving her husband a quick kiss, Allison left and went to her own office. As she sat there filling out paperwork, she began to ponder. What if she went to the conference with Greg? After all, with him keeping her from patients, what was stopping her from going with him and Cuddy? Not to mention, Florida _did_ sound very enticing this time of the year with the bitter temperatures. There wasn't much she couldn't do here, that couldn't be done just as easily further south. Standing up, Allison made her way to her boss's office.

"Are you feeling okay?" Cuddy stood up quickly when Allison appeared. She was still reeling from her earlier talk with Wilson, and the sudden appearance of Allison made if difficult for Cuddy to push back her superficial emotions.

"Fine." The younger woman smiled, easing Cuddy's eagerness, "I was just thinking, that maybe I could go with you two on the lecture. You get Greg and he gets me."

Lisa fiddled with a pen, her mind still on James, "I don't think it would be wise to be missing two department heads and myself from the hospital for an entire week."

"Greg's not letting me see patients right now." Allison flopped in the chair across from her boss, "He wants me to take it easy. Rachel can handle it, and anything she can't do, I can easily do on the trip. Miracle of fax machines and e-mail."

Pondering for a moment, Lisa weighed the pros and cons. After all, she really needed House on the lecture. He was one of the most highly noted individuals in his field, and despite his reputation for being a difficult individual, he was highly respected and the most well known person who worked at their hospital. She really did need him...

"I'll have to think about it for a while. Why don't you talk to Rachel about it and see if she's up for handling the department for a week?" Lisa suggested to give herself more time to consider the offer.

Allison looked at Lisa for a moment, "Are _you_ okay?"

"Yeah! Why!?" Lisa squeaked and then belittled herself for giving herself away with her squawky, paranoid voice.

"Because you just did your paranoid parrot impression." Allison's eyes narrowed, suspicion brewing. "Is something going on?"

"No." Cuddy sighed.

"Does it have to do with Wilson?" Allison witnessed Lisa struggle with herself, and her question was answered merely by the lack of response she received. Unfortunately, before she could question any further, the familiar knotting of her stomach returned with the over powering smell of her boss's perfume, "Can I just make one request?" Allison asked carefully, "If I do go to Florida with you guys... Can you not wear whatever perfume it is you have on?" She held her stomach, "I feel like I'm gonna throw up." As she said this though, she lurched forward and doubled over Lisa's trashcan. "Okay, I don't feel like throwing up anymore..." She whimpered, as Lisa pulled her back into a chair.

"No perfume." Cuddy made a mental note as Allison made a face over the taste in her mouth. "Do you want me to help you to the washroom?" She offered, but the younger woman shook her head and rose.

"I'll be fine." She said, evident fatigue in her voice. "I'm already sick of being sick. It better go away after the first trimester." She joked weakly.

---------------------------

"What's wrong, Jimmy-kins?" Greg flopped onto the couch in his best friend's office.

"Nothing." Wilson grumbled, not distracted in the least by his friend's abrupt appearance from the balcony. It was more unsettling for the oncologist when Greg _didn't_ suddenly emerge into the office unannounced.

"That's a lie if I ever heard one, and I've heard a lot." Greg raised an eyebrow at his friend, "You've got an interesting silence about you."

"I am usually the quiet one between us, House. It's you that does all the yammering." Wilson glared at his buddy.

"First of all, which one of us is usually talking is purely based on the type of talking done. If you're scoring by intellectually snide comments that are both brilliant and mind shattering; then I obviously talk the most. However, if you're scoring by most likely to pry into someone's personal life; then my dear Jimmy, you take the cake."

"What are you talking about!?" James gawked, "You're the one who tries to dig up the most dirt on people!"

"Yes, but I don't try and help them better themselves." Greg pointed out.

"Touche."

"But you have a familiar meaningful silence about you lately. I recognize it." Greg sat up and looked at his friend. "You're thinking about a woman."

Wilson's glare intensified, "And how, all knowing God of PPTH, do you come to that conclusion?"

"That's the same kind of silence Chase had for Ally and I had for Stacey..." Brow scrunching, Greg thought for a moment, "And that I later developed for Ally... You're not thinking of Ally are you?" Greg was now glaring.

"NO!"

"Ah, then it's old Funbags, huh?" Greg asked innocently, his surge of protective jealousy ceasing over the knowledge that his love was his alone and that other men didn't think of her like that. Then again, they probably did, he just didn't know. Great, now his surge of over protective jealousy was rising once again.

"Ever since your wedding," Wilson rubbed his face briskly, "I..."

"Is this about you two making out behind a pillar? 'Cause, honestly, a bit of tongue isn't much of a-"

"It was more than that."

"So you fucked?" Greg asked nonchalantly.

"NO!"

"Then what's the problem. There shouldn't be anything weird." He shrugged.

"You wouldn't understand." Wilson picked up a blank file, knowing Greg didn't care enough about patients to try and sneak a peak and discover it was empty.

"Yes, that's right, Love's Bitch wouldn't know _anything_ about heartache and unrequited love." Greg rolled his eyes.

"Love's Bitch? Ha!" Wilson slammed the blank file down, "How can you try and assume that title? Unrequited love, that's bullshit. Stacey did love you-"

"No, she loved her husband. She just pulled the same shit with him that she did with me, and he ended up hating her for it too." Greg stood up and leaned over his friend's desk, "Stacey only tried to come back to me because she knew I'd take her back if they broke up."

"But you didn't." Wilson pointed out.

"No." Greg's eyes narrowed, "Because I was already in love with Ally. I owe everything I have today to one night. I don't believe in tricky, little bullshit things like fate. Fate is a cheap excuse, but I do know that if Ally and I hadn't gotten sick when we did; we never would have ended up together." His voice was dark.

"You honestly think that you never would have ended up with Allison if you two hadn't gotten sick together?" James asked, disbelief all over his face.

Shaking his head, Greg sighed and flopped back into his chair. "Things would have turned out much different if we hadn't."

"How so?"

"Think of all the things that took place to get us together." Greg counted on his fingers for emphasis, "The sickness, her apartment burning down, her moving in after a week, the holiday madness that made me love her even more for screaming at my dad, getting to know her family..." He stopped, getting bored with the retelling of the last year of his life, "The list goes on!"

"But... What am I going to do about Lisa?" Wilson asked weakly.

"Get her sick." His friend shrugged.

"I don't walk around with a vile of the common cold in my lab coat pocket." James shot back.

"Well you should... How about mono?"

"House-"

"Listen, Cuddlebuns, isn't going to loosen up unless you give her a reason to." Greg stood up, "So, show her you're worth loosening up the rules for." Glancing at his watch, Greg frowned, "Gotta go check on the old ball and chain." Hopping out the balcony door he said one last thing, "And stop being so up tight. That's Cuddy's job."

TBC

A/N- Oh goodness, Greg giving romance advice to Wilson? Is this the sign of an apocalypse!?-Andi


	4. Chapter 4

Title:Parasitic

Chapter Four: Breaking News!

"Uh oh." Nurse Angie groaned when she saw a familiar uniform heading her way. "Let me guess, for Dr. House, right?" She took the vase of flowers from the floral delivery guy.

"Yeah, how'd ya' know?" The man laughed, handing over a clipboard for the nurse to sign.

"She's the only one that gets flowers." Angie sighed, shaking her head.

"Hm, not today." The delivery guy's brow furrowed, "I've got an order for a Dr. Cuddy, too."

"What!?" Angie squealed, obviously excited, "I mean, uh, here, I'll sign for that too."

The man laughed, and had the nurse sign for the other order as well and soon left nurse Angie with the two vases. Unfortunately, now the poor woman was left with a dilemma. Should she take a peek? After all, she hadn't gotten in trouble last time she had snuck a glance at the little card. However, as she pealed back the plastic, she scowled when she found that this time, the envelopes had been sealed on both of the cards. With an agitated grunt, Angie went to deliver the flowers.

Dr. Cuddy's receptionist took the vase from Angie, allowing her to travel to the other floral recipient's office.

"Dr. Cuddy," Maggie entered her boss's office, "these came for you!" She placed the vase on the medical director's desk.

"Oh," Lisa sighed, pulling back the plastic cover and looking at the beautiful daffodil arrangement; they were her absolute favorite, "they're beautiful!" She plucked the card from its plastic stem and blushed slightly, "Uh, Maggie... Could you..."

"OH! Right." Maggie laughed and left the office, and her boss to her privacy.

Opening the card, Lisa read it and flushed an even deeper red.

---------------------------

"Dr. House," Angie grimaced, "I still can't get used to calling you that." She laughed as she entered Allison's office, "These came for you." She grinned. "That hubby of yours sure loves you."

Unable to contain her grin, Allison rose, but had to remind herself to do so slowly, "Thank you, Angie... You didn't read the card this time, did you?" She teased.

Flushing a bit, Angie looked skyward, "No, it was sealed this time."

Laughing, Allison pushed back the plastic and took the card, reading it, she smiled, "Do you want to?"

"Nah, if you're offering, then it must not be very gossip worthy." Angie jokingly retaliated.

"I suppose that's true." Allison sighed and flopped back into her desk chair. As Angie left, Allison read the card again and grinned, "Doesn't mean that you're right."

Taking a deep breath of her beautifully bloomed azaleas, Allison smiled as she recited the short message in her head, _--"Congratulations, Mommy- Love Daddy"--_

With a bit of a giggle, Allison hugged the card and thought for a moment before getting up and sneaking off to her husband's office.

-----------------------------

Lisa Cuddy strolled to Wilson's office, when she arrived and threw the door back, she was happy to find him at his desk. "I love them!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck. Though the professional in her knew this was entirely inappropriate, the love struck side overruled and demanded that she show her appreciation. Tempting as it was to lay a kiss on his beautiful, full lips, Lisa managed to restrain that particular want.

Wilson, who was struck entirely by surprise, couldn't string together the words he wanted to ask. What did she love?

"It may not be a good idea, but maybe we really do deserve a chance..." She whispered in his ear, still hugging him tightly.

That statement quickly pushed aside all questions he had. Now, he just wanted to coax this blossoming opportunity into full bloom.

"If we develop our relationship gradually," he began gently, "maybe it would be easier for the hospital to adjust."

"I know, James, I'm just..." Lisa stood up and her hands fumbled with a small card. Wilson knew that card. It was the kind of card that came with floral arrangements. He'd get Greg for this!

"Lisa, let's just make ourselves happy for once." Wilson pleaded. He hated how unprepared he was to wage war in this particular battle. If it had been himself that had sent the flowers, it would be much easier to plead his case. Unfortunately, he was left without a leg to stand on, considering he had no clue what flowers his intruding friend had sent to Lisa, nor what he'd had written on the card.

"I want to be happy with you, James." She smiled weakly, but she didn't look quite ready to cave in.

"Next time, I'll send you daffodils." James smiled back, remembering that they were her favorite flowers, and that Greg had probably sent her roses.

Brow scrunching, Lisa frowned, "You did send me daffodils." She looked suspicious.

"I mean, so many daffodils that your office will flood with them, and you'll need House's old cane to use as a paddle to row through them." He recovered smoothly, and earned another smile from Lisa.

"I don't need flowers." Lisa gave him a shy look, "All I want is you."

"You've had me for years, Lisa." He gave her a goofy grin.

--------------------------

"I love my flowers." Allison snuggled against her husband. "They're beautiful."

"I'm glad you like them." He planted a kiss on her forehead as they curled together on the sofa, watching a rerun of General Hospital. A stack of files Allison should have been working on were piled on his desk; she could find time to do them later, when she was less distracted by her gorgeous hubby.

"I love you."

"Love you too." His head leaned against hers as one arm casually slid around her waist and cupped her belly. Allison's heart swelled at the gentle action, one that assured her that his words of love were not only directed at herself.

"You're amazing." She sighed, lacing her fingers with his over her still flat abdomen. "For as often as you pretended to hate kids..."

"I never said I hated them." He frowned a bit, "I just never showed any particular interest in them." Thinking for a moment he smiled, erasing the creases his earlier frown had made, "Until we went to your parents' home over the summer and I met your entire family. I saw you holding those babies and part of me started wondering."

"Wondering what?" She twisted a bit to look at him with a knowing leer.

"You know what."

"Aw," Allison pouted, turning to lie on her stomach, "don't be so mean. I wanna hear you say it."

With a devilish grin, her husband submitted, "Wondered what it would be like to imbed you with some parasites."

"That's sick!" Allison gave him a shove, slightly disgusted, but still not so much that she wanted to lose his warmth. After all, the large amount of windows really didn't secure the insulation of heat; which made his office particularly cold in comparison to the rest of offices. "I've always wondered why your department is the only one to be entirely comprised of windows." Her brow furrowed at that epiphany.

"So Cuddy can keep an eye on me, and I can keep an eye on her cleavage-",p "Stop that!" She swatted her husband's chest. "Pretty soon, my breasts are gonna get huge and you can ogle them instead of our boss's!"

Before Greg could snidely respond to that statement, the balcony door flung open and a very confused Wilson came rushing in.

"I don't know what I was thinking!" He yelled.

"Imagine that," Greg leered, "I don't know what you're thinking either."

"You!" He shouted, pointing at Greg, "What the fuck were you thinking!?"

"Well, it's not like it was planned." Greg was wondering how Wilson had possibly found out about the pregnancy. God help Foreman if he was the one who had blabbed.

"I should kill you for this, you know?" Wilson began to pace.

"I don't see why." Greg still hadn't risen from his spot on the couch, and Allison was just as stationary despite her own confused look.

"You don't see... It's a mother fucking miracle, House doesn't see!" Wilson raised his hands heavenward.

"Why do you always give Him all the credit?" Greg jabbed his index finger upward, referring to the Man Up Stairs. "After all, I did all the work."

"Ahem." Allison coughed pointedly.

"Love, we're not sure which time did it, it could've been that time we were on the couch. And in all honesty, if it was; then you didn't do very much."

"Wait..." Wilson held up his hands, "_What?_"

"We don't know when she got pregnant?" Greg offered, "You know we do it like rabbits, it's practically impossible to give all the credit to a single coupling-"

"You're pregnant?" Wilson gawked at the young woman who still sat half on the couch, and half on her husband.

"You didn't know? I thought that's what all of this was about..." Greg's brow furrowed. "Honey, we're really not doing a good job on keeping this a secret."

"At least Foreman gets to live another day." Allison pointed out.

"True."

"So what is it you're blaming my husband for, if not implanting his seed in my womb?" Allison asked rather blatantly, and making Wilson get an involuntary shudder and a wave of nausea quite similar to when he'd walked in on them screwing on this very couch.

"Why did you send Lisa flowers!?" Wilson finally demanded of his friend after he'd managed to scrape the bruising mental image of the two of them.

"Uh, I didn't..." Greg was now once again confused.

"I did." Allison raised her hand. "You two were sulky." She shrugged.

"And you two are turning into each other." Wilson pointed at them.

"Well, you obviously weren't going to let your balls drop long enough to do it." Greg pointed out.

"Is this something to do with the last name House?" Wilson accused, "Is this where all of this nosey intruding manifests?"

"Ha, you're one to talk about intruding." Allison laughed.

"No argument on that one." Greg agreed. "Besides, what happened?"

Wilson blushed a bit, "We're going on a date this Saturday."

"Well, there you go then." Allison glared, "What's the problem?"

"The problem is, I don't even know what that note said!" The oncologist moaned.

"It said, "Give it a chance." Does that help?" Allison informed him. "I didn't even have them put your name... So, technically, I did send them to her from you. She just _assumed_ that they were from you. Which, if you think about it, is kinda cool, 'cause that means she was hoping that they were from you and not necessarily-"

"Babbling." House murmured.

"You could have told me you were doing it. I didn't even know what flowers you sent her, so I almost completely blew it!" Wilson flopped into one of the spare chairs.

"Did she catch on?" Greg asked.

"No."

"Then what's the big deal? You've got a date, we've got three babies on the way. Isn't life grand?" Allison smiled lazily as Greg ran his fingers through her hair with nimble playing.

"Th-three?" Wilson gaped for a moment. "Triplets? Oh my God!"

"There you go giving Him all the credit again." Greg rolled his eyes, "And if I think about it," he narrowed his eyes at his wife, "you give him a lot of credit too. I hear "Oh my, God" a lot more then "Oh my, Greg". What's up with that?"

Allison smiled widely at that statement, "You're free to try and adjust my orgasm vocabulary." She offered, a sultry grin on her lips.

"I'm leaving. Seeing the two of you this happy is slightly nauseating. Happy Greg equals unfortunate events to come." Wilson got up and made an escape out the balcony door.

"You know, he's right..." Allison frowned, "We always manage to get shit dumped on us when we're actually happy."

"What are the odds of me having another aneurysm?" Greg pondered.

"I don't feel like doing the math. But pretty low." Allison sighed. "But triplets is almost always automatically labeled as a high risk pregnancy-"

"Shh, don't think like that."

"Gregory House trying to get me to be an optimist? Where's the fire and brimstone?" Allison joked, scratching the top of his head and mussing up his hair.

"There's actually a study about negative thoughts influencing the outcome-"

"Blah blah blah. Yes, I know all about self-fulfilling prophecies." Allison rolled her eyes.

"If there's nothing more I can do for you than to be optimistic, then I'll do it."

"Mm, you can coddle me all you want." She sighed, nuzzling against him.

"Be prepared for unfathomable amounts of coddling." He assured, giving her jugular a playful nip. "You're going to be so coddled you'll beg me to go on that Florida trip by myself."

"Oh my, Greg, I love you so much." Allison murmured in his ear in a teasing breath.

Nodding, Greg kissed her cheek, "Now that's sounding a lot more like it."

TBC

A/N- Thanks for waiting- Please review:D-Andi


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Parasitic

Chapter Five: Mundane

On their way home from work, Allison and Greg stopped by the grocery store. Mundane, yes, but still necessary.

Perusing the shelves, Allison leaned heavily against the grocery cart as her husband continued to toss obscene amounts of junk food into the cart. For once she didn't object, because everything looked irresistibly delicious!

"Grab the mint ones too!" Allison whined when Greg tossed a box of oreos into the cart.

"I like this." He commented, tossing a box of the mint oreos in as well, "I'm not the only one jonesing for junk food anymore." Greg wrapped his arms around Allison's waist and curled his chest against her back as they walked awkwardly down the aisle.

When they reached the beverage aisle, Allison went to pick up a case of water, but was immediately halted by Greg. Quickly, he picked it up and tossed it into the cart.

"Ooh, I like being spoiled." She commented in a teasing tone.

"You're not picking up anything over ten pounds if I can help it." Greg told her as he sidled once again behind her. Allison's eyes shut gently as she leaned against the handle of the grocery cart, feeling the warmth of her husband's body against her. "If I could, I'd carry you everywhere."

"Aw, someone's getting over protective." Allison cooed playfully. "Does this mean you're going to hold out on sex? Since I'm so delicate and everything." She teased.

"Maybe." Allison looked horrified, "It won't last long, but I might try it."

She laughed. "You scared me for a minute," Allison bucked her hips backwards to press against his, "I almost believed you."

Shivering at her thrust, and the tightening it caused in his jeans, Greg let his hands trail down to her hips. They swayed with the figure-eight pattern that women managed to shashay their asses with. The way her hips moved was alluring all by itself. He could get hard just watching her walk.

"I know what you're thinking..." Allison teased, turning her back against the handbar of the grocery cart.

"Oh?"

"Mmmhmm." Allison nodded, still walking backwards and pushing the cart with her elbows that were propped on the bar. "You were thinking about my ass."

"Only because it was pressing against my dick." Greg teased, sliding his hands down her hips and back to cup her bottom. "Can't blame me."

"No," she sighed, "can't blame you." She squirmed a bit when his hands tickled over her thighs. "No tickling!" She squealed, ducking under his arms and out of his embrace to escape his torturous fingers. Greg abandoned the grocery cart and gave chase to his wife, but he needn't have bothered. Allison stood, frozen, in front of a freezer, gazing longingly at the ice cream.

"A bit early for cravings?" Greg teased.

"I really, really want that." Allison still stared at the belgian chocolate ice cream.

"Then get it." Her husband shrugged, reaching to tug the door open.

"I need to put on _good_ weight, Greg! Not a bunch of empty calories that's just going to clog my arteries!" She whined, trying to push the freezer door closed.

"Mmm, chocolate ice cream." He teased, leaning against her until she was pressed against the cool door, "I want it too." Greg kissed her nose quickly as he flung the freezer door open and snagged a carton.

"You're evil. You just want me to get fat quicker."

"Baby, you're carrying triplets; you're going to get huge regardless of what I feed you-"

SMACK!!

"You're mean a husband!" She wailed as her open palm collided with the back of his head.

"Ow!" He said pointedly, rubbing his head, "And you're a model spouse? I want to file abuse charges!"

"I'm pregnant!" Her eyes began to tear.

"And that legalizes physical assault?" Greg asked, the note of humor evident in his voice.

"But-but..." With a short wail, Allison flung her arms around her husband's neck, "I'm sorry!"

"Oh, shit, this is the mood swings they talk about on the pregnancy warning label, isn't it?" He ran his hands up and down her back. Her head nodded against his chest, "So, is playful sarcasm strictly prohibited against me, or is everyone included?" He teased.

"Just you." She sniffled, "And Lisa's not allowed to wear perfume." She recalled the gut wrenching effects of her boss's scent.

"And what shall we deny the Dark One, and Jimmy boy?" Greg tossed the carton of ice cream into the grocery cart.

"Hmm, Wilson's not allowed to lecture me, and Foreman..." She scrunched up her lips to the corner in thought, "Isn't allowed to bad mouth you." Allison grinned childishly before coiling her arms about his neck, "And your soul responsibility is babying me." She finished playfully. "Got that?"

"Got it. No sarcasm; and beckon call role." He nodded. "So does that mean that I should put on an apron and duct tape my mouth shut?"

Allison pouted.

"Sarcasm isn't going anywhere, honey." Greg smirked, "Can't do anything about that." He gave a shrug before dropping to his knees.

Allison blushed when he leaned his forehead against her stomach.

"Besides," he nuzzled her tummy, planting gentle kisses over the fabric of her shirt, "best get the little ones ready for their exit. I'd hate to leave them unprepared to meet my scathing comments."

Ruffling his hair, Allison smiled wide. "You're adorable!" She cooed as his hands ran up the backs of her thighs and he hooked his chin against her belt to look up at her.

"Yeah, well don't get used to it." He used the grocery cart to help him stand back up. His leg may have become more cooperative than it had once been, but that didn't mean it was up to the task of rising from the ground in a fluid motion. Allison caught his frown.

"What?" She asked simply at the look he had on his face while they continued walking around the grocery store.

"What, what?" Greg's frown deepened.

"You've got that look." Allison watched him as he leaned against the grocery cart.

"Which look would that be?"

"How about trying to be a little more evasive?" She snarked.

"Woah! No more mood fluctuations tonight, please?"

"Then answer me."

With a weary sigh, and a quick, contemplative wonderment if he could survive roughly eight months with a hot and cold Allison, Greg replied, "Just thinking is all."

"About?"

"Raising kids." He crossed his arms while he leaned against the handrail of the cart. "Wondering if I'm going to be able to be a good dad. Bizar really." He frowned for a moment, "Never thought I'd be a dad, and now I'm going to be a father of three?" He shook his head, "I'm not sure I was ready for it... Then again, considering what a relic I am; I guess I was running out of time."

Allison whacked him over the back, "You're not a relic." Then with an adorable smile, she leaned heavily against him like a tired child, "You want to go home and show me just how spry you still are?" She teased, wrapping her arms around his slim waist.

"You're not feeling too nauseas?" He asked carefully.

"For once, no." She laughed as they continued to throw the last of the odds and ends that were essential for them to survive the next few days on.

"Then I gladly accept that offer." Greg grinned at her, his devilish smile causing a flush to rise in her cheeks. "Glad to know I can still make you blush like that."

----------------

Arriving home, Allison scurried to the bedroom, leaving her husband to unpack the groceries. Anxious to join her, Greg dropped the bags on the counter and only bothered to put away the refrigerated and frozen items. It was actually more tedious than he thought, for the bagger at the store had managed to throw various cold items in different bags, and Greg ended up having to go through every single one before he could leave the rest to sit on the counter top until morning. He'd already wasted a good ten minutes hunting down all the groceries, and he'd be damned if he'd waste any more time.

His task complete, Greg quickly walked to the bedroom, and much to his disappointment, Allison had fallen asleep already. He couldn't blame her, for he was well aware of the fatigue her body was experiencing, but he couldn't help the inkling of disappointment. Pulling off his clothes, Greg slid under the blankets and hugged Allison close to him.

In her early stages of sleep, Allison curled onto her side, her arm flopping around his waist. Smiling to himself, Greg nuzzled his face against her hair and breathed her in. She still smelled like honey and almonds to him, a warming scent, comforting even. With a yawn, Greg fell asleep, lulled into a similar fatigue by her gentle fragrance.

--------------------

Flopping onto Wilson's couch, Greg let out a wide yawn.

"Wow, you're here on time." Wilson laughed as his friend let his eyes drift shut. "What's wrong?"

"Allison kept me up all night." He replied tiredly. "She's feeling sore all over, and every time she woke up she'd run away to the bathroom and throw up."

"Jeez," Wilson shook his head, "poor girl. She keeps it up and she'll be put on an IV just to put some fluids back into her body."

Nodding his head, Greg didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep until he was abruptly awoken by the continuous swatting of a file onto his head.

"I've got a patient coming in for a consult in ten minutes. You've gotta leave." Wilson said gently, not nearly as stern as he would had he not been empathizing with his friend.

"Right. I'll go sleep in my own office." Greg stretched, wondering if his wife hadn't already commandeered his couch.

When he hopped over the balcony rail, he was slightly agitated to find Allison slumbering on his couch. Groaning, he went to his chairs and pulled them together. Sitting on one, he flopped his feet on the other and quickly fell back asleep.

"Nap time in the diagnostics department?" Chase's voice broke through Greg's nap.

"If someone isn't dying, you will be soon." Greg growled, opening one eye slightly to glare at his subordinate.

The Aussie grimaced, "We've got a patient." He assured, holding out the file. "Cam-... Allison still feeling under the weather?" He pointed at his boss's wife.

"Yeah, she can't shake it." Greg snatched the file away and glanced at it.

"Maybe she's pregnant." Chase teased, but quickly went somber at his boss's glare. "Or uh... Patient?" He gestured to the folder that Greg was still reading, trying to change the subject.

"Congratulations, you've successfully managed to save your testicles." Greg flung the file at Chase and clambered out of his makeshift bed. "You're getting much better at redirecting the subject. If only we could manage to teach you to avoid saying things that would make that tool necessary. Well, another year, another lesson." Rubbing his eyes, he went into the main section of the department where Foreman was sitting.

When Allison awoke, she felt much better, and luckily, no wave of nausea hit her. With a rested sigh, Allison went into the department to find her former co-workers figuring out a new case.

"Feeling better?" Foreman asked sympathetically.

She nodded, "Yeah, how long was I out?" Allison asked rubbing her eyes.

"A good three hours." Chase smirked, "Glad to know you're getting paid to sleep."

"We're paid on salary, Chase, I'm getting paid whether I'm asleep or not." Allison leered, "Not too mention, they pay you to use your brain, and we've yet to witness that."

"Woah!" Foreman laughed, "Can I shake your hand?" He stood up, arm outstretched.

"I make fun of him all day, and you never shake _my_ hand." Greg said pointedly.

"But it's Cameron!" Foreman pointed out.

"..."

"Mrs. Dr. House." Foreman corrected at the simultaneous waiting looks from both Allison and Greg. "Damn it, why couldn't you have kept your name?" He whined, "I can't call you Cameron anymore, and I have been for nearly three years! Hell, I don't even think I _know_ your first name anymore!"

"Now that's just sad." Greg rolled his eyes.

"But true." Chase nodded.

"You slept with me, and you can't remember my first name?" Allison quirked an eyebrow.

"Can we please _not_ bring up the nauseating reminder that my subordinate has fucked my wife?" Greg looked ready to throw up.

"I wouldn't call it that." Allison's brow furrowed.

"Made love to?" Chase offered.

"Definitely wouldn't call it that either." Allison couldn't surpress the shiver in her spine.

"Left gravely dissatisfied?" Foreman offered.

Greg and Allison pointed at Foreman, "That fits perfectly!" Allison cried.

Chase nudged Foreman, "I thought you were suppose to be on my side!" He whined.

"What gave you that idea?" The neurologist grimaced.

"Alliances aside, where are we with diagnosing this patient?" Greg tried to get back on track.

"Baby, I'm gonna go get some paperwork done." Allison kissed Greg's cheek, "See you in a couple of hours for lunch." She said, sauntering out of the department.

Greg smiled at the sway of her hips. He could watch her ass all day if he could.

"Patient?" Foreman brought his boss back to the real world.

"Oh... Right. What was our latest symptom?"

TBC

A/N- No worries, there will be more plot development in the next chapter! I promise!!!!!-Andi


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Parasitic

A/N- ShipperCrazed-FanficCrazy, I just wanna say that I'm sorry to hear about your father, and I want to extend my best wishes to him and a quick recovery. Good Health-Andi

Chapter Six: Your Flight Has Been Cancelled

Striding down the corridor, Lisa Cuddy entered the diagnostics department, a decision made.

"I talked to Allison yesterday," she began, but didn't get a chance to finish her statement.

"Imagine that, I talked to her yesterday too. I even got to talk to her today!" Greg looked at his boss, "Sorry, I thought we were competing over popularity with my wife."

With an annoyed tone, Lisa continued, "She offered to go to Florida with us so that you would go."

"Allison can't fly." Greg's eyes narrowed.

Rolling her eyes with exasperation, Lisa fumed, "She's perfectly capable-"

"Ally hates flying. She freaks out every time, even with her brother-in-law flying. I had to drug her to get her on the plane back to New York when we were coming back from her parents' last summer!"

"But-"

"No, she's not flying. She was throwing up both too and from Japan, and she's _not_ getting on a plane when the very survival of our kids depends on her keeping food _in_ her stomach." He snarled with finality.

"You had to play that card didn't you?" Lisa sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Please, Greg? It's just a week. Can't one of your in-laws come over and stay with her while you're gone?"

"Can't you just take Wilson instead? He'd die to spend a week away with you." Greg moaned.

"He's not as renowned as you." Lisa tried to compliment him.

"Flattery is cheap." His eyes narrowed. "You can't win me over with things I'm already well aware of."

"Please?" She begged.

"I'll talk to Ally about it. Maybe we can do her ultrasound the day before I'm suppose to leave." Greg thought for a moment, "Her brother may be able to stay with her." He was at a loss, and had to consult with his wife. He knew that Lisa was more than capable of making him go whether he wanted to or not, and despite their constant fighting, he really did respect his boss. Hell, maybe he could use this as leverage later... He'd have to look into that...

Lisa left, and Greg went to his wife's office to talk to her. "How are you." He came in and kissed her forehead.

"Fine, ready for lunch?" She asked, grabbing her purse.

"Yeah... So, Cuddy says you two came to an ultimatum about the conference?" He began carefully, not wanting to flare her moodswings into overdrive.

"Yeah, did she go for it?" Allison asked hopefully.

Nodding, Greg thought about how he should phrase his next statement, "Yeah, she agreed to let you come but..."

"But?" Allison looked at him curiously.

"I... Don't think it would be the best idea for you to go." He waited for her to explode, and she didn't disappoint.

"What do you mean I shouldn't go? Why? 'Cause it was _my_ idea and you're pissed that you didn't think about it? Well, fuck you!" She shoved him and flung her purse down on her desk with a large THUD.

"No," he kept his patience, which was really quite impressive for him, "you and I both know that you do not fly well."

Allison crossed her arms over her chest but didn't deny the truth of that observation.

Inching closer to her, Greg did something many wouldn't consider a big deal, but with his wife's current hormone cocktail in full effect, it was probably deserving of an award reserved for displays of extreme courage. "You can hardly keep enough food down to run your own body right now, and you know that flying stresses you out, so why would you want to subject your body to it?"

"B-because, I don't want you to leave me." She whimpered. "I don't want to be all alone."

"Kane will be with you, and can't you see if your one of your siblings will stay with you for the week?" He asked, reaching out to place warm hands on her vibrating shoulders. "I'll call every day, and it's only a week."

Allison shrugged his hands off of her, "I don't care." She turned her back to him, not ready to stop fighting. "And no. No one can come stay with me. Morgan has this month booked for flights, and Ste is already a wreck without him there. And Ste can't stay with me, 'cause he's got the animal clinic to run. Lolie's got a new batch of interns and Bryce has a huge caseload right now, plus they're already taking care of their own kid!"

Greg looked at her for a moment. He knew full well that Allison didn't keep that close of a tab on her family. He knew this, because she'd told him a while ago that they didn't talk much on the phone because then they had plenty to talk about when they finally all got together. "You haven't told them you're pregnant yet." He concluded, and by the stiffness he saw in her shoulders, Greg knew that he'd guessed correctly.

"No." She admitted. "I want to, but-"

"Ally, I don't get it, honey. You were so happy to-"

"I know." She leaned heavily against her desk. "I just..." Allison trailed off, uncertain of how to phrase her fears.

"Do you want to have kids?" He asked carefully.

"Yeah..."

"That didn't sound very certain." It hurt him to say it, and it hurt her to hear it. The statement sounded so accusing.

"I wasn't ready for this." She cried, tears falling from her eyes, "I wasn't ready. I'm not ready." Her voice broke with sobs. "One maybe... I think I could have handled one." She swiped at the falling trails of water. "But not three, Greg, I never could have prepared myself for three."

Nothing in him knew what to say. For the first time, he was entirely speechless. He couldn't say anything snide. He couldn't say anything comforting. Nothing in him was prepared to comment.

"God, I'm such a monster." She cried, and he said nothing.

"I... I..." His mouth opened, and all that could exit it was a broken garble of pointless vowels. All Greg wanted to do was turn around and walk out of the room, but he at least had the common sense not to follow that natural instinct. It was rare that he felt this uncomfortable. Everything he would have told a patient went flying out the window, because this wasn't a stranger who he'd never see again. This was the woman he shared his home, his bed, and his life with.

"Maybe..." Allison turned somber. "Maybe we weren't ready for this."

"You want to-"

"No! But I'm just so unsure." She said in dismay. "I want them. I really really do." She was crying even harder now, "I want them so badly!" She was shaking and sobbing and still Greg couldn't grasp the strength to embrace her. "I'm just so fucking scared."

As soon as those words left her mouth, a spark ignited in Greg's brain and he suddenly felt his insecurities leave him, "Afraid?"

"Yeah." She said weakly.

"Ally, baby, you're the most nurturing woman I've ever met. You have more patience and honesty in you than a saint, and you're afraid? You're a hard worker, you're strong, and you know what?" She shook her head, not knowing, "You're still at the same spot _everyone_ is in when they start having kids. Everyone's scared. I'm ready to collapse I'm so scared right now." His legs unfroze, and he was finally able to close their distance and hug her. "There is nothing you should think you can't handle, because women not nearly as strong as you have survived raising kids."

Allison cried against his shoulder as she clung to him, "I love you." She sobbed into his shoulder.

"Love you too." He whispered into her hair. "We can do this, Ally... And if it's any consolation, there's a ninety-five percent chance you're gonna get a cesarean, so you don't even have to go through labor." She gave a watery laugh, "Better?" She nodded against his chest, "Do you want me to tell Cuddy to fuck off and I'll just skip the conference?"

Though it sounded very tempting, Allison had a better idea in mind, "How about..." Allison smiled at her idea, "How about we bargain with her. You go, and in return you're pardoned from future lectures for the next year and a half, and we get to bring the kids with us here?"

"Ooh, and I was just thinking about what types of perks I could get by doing this!" He laughed, giving her a tight hug.

Laughing, Allison snuggled against him, drying stray tears against his t-shirt. "Are we okay?" She asked carefully.

"We're fine." He placed a kiss on her forehead, so softly that had it not been for the moist imprint it left, she may not have realized he'd done it.

"Lunch?"

"Lunch." He agreed.

--------------------------

"Yes?" Wilson quirked an eyebrow at his friend when he actually knocked before barging into his office. "What have you done with my best friend?" He joked.

"I'm having second thoughts." Greg didn't even flop down on the couch, instead he paced anxiously.

"About?"

"Kids."

Wilson sat up straighter in his chair, completely shocked. "Greg, it's a bit too late to start having second thoughts." He pointed out nervously, "I thought you were happy! I mean..." At his friend's lost look, "Shouldn't you be talking to Allison about this?" He asked weakly.

"I can't." Greg rubbed his hands over his face briskly, as if the action would disperse his mind's current torments. "I just spent the better part of a half hour reassuring Allison about it."

"It sounds like you two weren't ready for this step." Wilson clasped his hands in front of his chest, taking on the role of Greg's psychiatrist.

"No one really ever is quite ready."

"That's rather evasive." Wilson pointed out.

"So sue me." Greg glared, still walking the short length of the office and back again.

"What's the problem?" Wilson began to chip away at Greg's wall of scathing remarks.

Greg didn't speak for a good five minutes, merely pacing back and forth. When he did speak, Wilson was surprised at how forthcoming it was. True, Greg normally was forthcoming, but not about his feelings, therefore Wilson was left shellshocked.

"I don't know if I can be a father." He confessed. "I've spent my entire life doing the only thing I knew would prevent me from becoming my father. I didn't have kids so I wouldn't have to worry about making them the same socially dysfunctional individuals that I am, and now, I've managed to spawn three children, completely sealing my fate. Do you think if I commit suicide they'll have a greater chance of coming out normal?" Greg asked weakly.

Stunned, Wilson could hardly speak. If marrying Allison had done anything to change Greg, it was definitely this. On a normal day, Wilson would have had to spend a good day and a half chiselling this much information out of his friend. Now, Greg was offering it all out on a silver platter? Shaking his head, the oncologist realized something very important.

Greg took this very seriously.

The man had to be entirely serious. If he wasn't genuinely worried, he wouldn't be so honest about being afraid. However, the difficult part was reassuring his best friend that he'd make a good father. But how do you do such a thing? Greg was more than capable of tearing apart any superficial reassurances. He needed something deep. He needed something that was fundamentally reassuring, not a boost in morale.

"There's nothing I can say, Greg." Wilson shook his head, a look of regret shining in his eyes. "What can I say that you wouldn't shrug off?"

"Nothing I suppose." Greg finally flopped down in the chair opposite Wilson's desk.

"I'm sorry, but we both know that I can't reassure you." Wilson was at a loss, he felt horrible that there was nothing he could say to his friend.

"You're a lot of help, Jimmy." Greg grunted, but not with his usual cynicism.

"You should talk to your wife, Greg."

"Not right now."

"Then when?"

"Later."

-----------------------

Allison hadn't felt this good in a long time. Not to say that she hadn't felt wonderful when she found out she was pregnant, but the happiness had been marred by her uncertainties and other underlying fears. Now, reassured and confident, Allison was strolling around the hospital with a new wave of energy that belied her previous days of constant fatigue. She had even managed to eat her entire lunch, an overly large one at that, and not even feel the need to throw up afterwards!

Life was good.

However, seeing that life likes to throw us a curve ball when we're on cloud nine, Allison received a rude awakening.

"Hi, Wilson!" Allison bounced into the oncologist's office, making him jump at her unexpected arrival.

"Ally!" He yelped, still recovering from his earlier conversation with Greg, and unprepared to see Allison and face her without leaking possible information. Then again... Maybe if he spoke to Allison and made her understand Greg's insecurities, then perhaps, she would be able to instill some comfort in him.

"How's it going?" She was still bouncing, "Guess what!"

"Uh, what?"

"I kept down lunch!" She said excitedly, like it was her greatest achievement.

"Congratulations." Wilson couldn't help smiling, knowing that Allison had been struggling with morning sickness.

"Yup."

"Ally," Wilson thought for a moment, "can you sit down a minute? I need to talk to you."

Plopping into the same chair Greg had sat in earlier, Allison looked at Wilson attentively.

"I think there needs to be a bit of reassurance about your growing family." He began carefully.

"Oh, don't worry, Greg and I talked, and every thing's okay now." She assured.

"Wow!" Wilson looked relieved, "I'm glad to hear that, 'cause when I talked to Greg, he was kind of nervous about talking to you. I was afraid he'd keep putting it off."

Allison laughed, "No, we talked." She assured. "The things he said made me realize a lot that I'd been neglecting to take into account." Wilson nodded, "I'm just glad he didn't run away, I could tell he wanted to turn around and run out the door." She laughed and Wilson smiled, "But he let me cry and reassured me that I could handle it-"

"Wait." Wilson held up a hand. "He reassured you?"

"Of course... Who else would he be reassuring?" She laughed.

"But... Wait... Are we talking about the same conversation?" Wilson was confused, "Was your conversation before or after lunch?" He asked for clarification.

"... Before..." Allison looked at James curiously.

"Ally, I'm talking about... Well... You reassuring him." Wilson bit his lip, "Greg's really... Uh... Conflicted right now."

"About?" Allison's tilted her head at a downward angle, giving her a dark look, one that clearly said her husband might lose the ability to reproduce depending on what Wilson replied with.

"Well, about kids." Wilson said weakly, a tiny squeak in his voice, evident fear that his own testicles may be on the chopping block next.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Allison shrieked, standing up so abruptly that she toppled over the chair that she'd been sitting in.

Before Wilson could say anything, she was out the balcony door and stomping towards her husband's office.

"YOU FUCKING HYPOCRITE!" Allison flung the door open in the diagnostics department, stunning Greg, Foreman, and Chase into silence. "YOU TWO OUT!" She pointed at Foreman and Chase. The two men shielded their nether regions as they scurried out of the department.

"Ally-"

"DON'T "ALLY" ME!" She poked him hard in the ribs with her index finger. "YOU SAID WE WERE GOOD! YOU LIED TO ME!"

"Allison."

"SHUT UP!" She poked him again. "YOU FUCKING STOOD THERE AND TOLD ME WHAT A WONDERFUL MOM I'D MAKE WHILE YOU'RE DOUBTING _YOURSELF_!?" The level of how furious she was could not be gaged in standard forms of measurement. "YOU FUCKING LIED TO ME!"

"DAMN IT, CAMERON!" Greg grabbed her shoulders, "I can't! I can't talk to you, 'cause everything I say makes you cry! Everything I do makes you mad! And you want me to stand here and confess to you that I'm scared as hell?"

Allison was stunned to say the least. "C-Cameron?" Her eyes widened, shoulders slumping, however, she chose not to dwell. She knew that using her maiden name was the only way he was going to be able to stun her into silence long enough to get a word in. "You really can't talk to me anymore?" She wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging herself. She knew that she was being unfair to him. There were too many excuses she could use, and use them she did. However, she couldn't say that they were all excuses. Every emotion she felt was real, and powerful, and ripping her apart. Her family had always said that she felt things too strongly, and now, amplified by hormones and her own dismay, Allison was a timebomb that exploded in spastic increments, leaving all around her unable to predict the next catastrophe.

"I'm saying," Greg's hold on her shoulder's loosened, "that, it's hard."

"No shit."

"I mean," he sighed, "I'm just as confused and nervous and frightened as you are."

"I know." She couldn't stop a new wave of tears from pouring from her eyes, "I'm sorry that I'm being so selfish." She couldn't stop herself from crying.

Wrapping his arms around his wife, Greg let out an internal sigh. "I'd do anything to make you stop crying." He whispered in her ear, "That's what I can't stand about all of this. It feels like I'm constantly making you cry. I feel like everything that's hurting you is all my fault, and I've hurt you so much in the past that..."

"You're not your father." Allison said softly.

Taken aback, Greg pulled away and looked at her.

"You're not, you know." She said firmly, "I've met him, and I _know_ that you are **not** him." She swiped away tears, "I know it sounds cliche, but it doesn't make it any less true." Taking on a strong appearance, Allison put her hands to her husband's face, "So why can't you let him go? Why can't you finally cast him aside and realize that you're yourself and no one else. Baby, being a bad father isn't genetic."

With a weak smile, Greg pressed his forehead against Allison's, "I think I believe you." It was baffling how well she knew him, and part of him wondered if Wilson had told her exactly what he was afraid of. How else could she have figured it out? Or did she really know him that well?

"You should. I'm always right." Allison smirked, her eyes closing.

"I'll humor you and agree, but only because you're pregnant." She gave a harsh laugh at that. "Glad I can still make you laugh."

"You always make me laugh." She assured, "Even when I'm crying, you still amuse me. The way you get that helpless look on your face makes me forget why I'm sad, even if it's only for a second."

"I'm sorry I make you cry so much."

"I'm sorry I cry so much and make you think it's your fault." Allison embraced him tightly.

"You know what we really, _really_ need?" Greg asked carefully.

"Make-up sex?" Allison ventured.

"And lots of it." He agreed.

She smirked, "Where?"

"Our bed."

"You're going to make me wait five hours to have make-up sex?" Allison looked skeptical.

"No, we're going to play hooky for a couple hours, and Wilson's going to cover for us, 'cause I know it was that busybody that told you I was feeling anxious." Greg took Allison's hand and lead her towards the door.

"Wait." Allison stopped him.

"What?" Greg asked gently.

"..." She looked at him beseechingly.

With a soft smile, Greg knew what she needed, "To bed, Mrs. House?"

With a grin, Allison gave a hop and jumped into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist. Her lips fused with his as her ankles hooked together behind his back, securing herself. "One more time?" She asked slyly.

"Mrs. House."

"One more?"

"Mrs. House."

"Okay." She peppered his face with kisses as they staggered into the hallway and towards the elevator.

"Are you going to make me carry you like this out of the hospital?" Greg teased.

"Maybe." She cooed, kissing him over and over.

"Might make hooky seem a bit obvious."

"Hooky? More like "nookie"." Allison teased, finally dropping her legs from around his waist when the elevator finally arrived.

--------------------

It had been a while since Kane had heard the front door open with such urgency that the mutt felt compelled to take refuge beneath the piano. However, as her owners burst through the threshold of the apartment, dashing down the hallway to the bedroom, the dog let out a long, groaning sigh from her safe nest beneath the large space beneath the instrument.

Allison tugged at her husband's clothes as he made quick work of removing her own. Soon they fell in a tangled heap of half naked limbs onto the bed. Articles of clothing clung to them, trying to maintain their proper positions on the needful bodies, but soon they were tossed away to the shunning corners of the bedroom, as entirely naked flesh met at last.

"Love you." Allison said breathlessly as Greg kissed down the length of her body, worshipping the increasingly sensitive peaks of her breasts. "Ah, love you so much." She mewled as he took one budded nipple between his lips and suckled it until she was panting in bliss.

"Make room, little guys." He said to her belly, "Daddy's coming in to visit."

"That's disturbing on so many levels." Allison shook her head, though she still laughed despite her slight disgust.

Greg shrugged, "Thought I'd give them a fair warning."

"Still disturbing." She murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck as his hands glided up her thighs, massaging them with his firm grip. "Mmm, I think I'll get a massage while you're gone." She sighed, knowing that the hands of a massage therapist would never get the physical response that her husband's did. Which was probably a good thing.

"I'll massage you." He leaned forward and nibbled her ear, earning a lovely moan from her lips, "Can't keep my hands off you half the time anyway." He teased, his body pressing its full length against hers as one hand dipped between their bodies to twirl in the neat nest of curls.

Whimpering, Allison rolled her hips, feeling his fingers find her clit and cause another sharp gasp to issue from her lips, "Love your hands." She keened as she rocked against said hand.

"Love all of you." He gave her earlobe another tug between his teeth, "Love your hands, and arms, and torso, feet, legs, face, scalp-"

"Are you going to give me an entire anatomical breakdown, or are you going to fuck me?" Allison asked playfully, "Two can play at that game, you know. I love your phalangis, and your metacarpals, and carpals... Your radius, ulna-

"Okay, stop." Greg pressed against her teasingly, letting the tip of his cock graze the outer lips of her already wet entrance.

"Humer-UH!" Allison arched like a bow as he slid inside her. Recovering from his abrupt entrance, Allison quickly began rolling her hips as his own thrust back and forth, both of their hands wandering in the form of soft, needful caresses.

"Humer-UH?" He teased, wandering from her ear to her throat.

"Sssssss." Allison hissed, her legs wrapping around his hips as she met his thrusts.

"Glenoid Fossa."

"AH! Fuck!" Allison groaned, eyes squeezing shut tightly as she tumbled over the edge.

Amazed at her quick release, Greg wondered what her easily stimulated body was capable of. Her fresh wave of juices encouraged him to glide more freely, and he managed to bring her over the edge two more times before her clenching walls dragged him into oblivion with her third crescendo.

In a sweating jumble of bodies, Allison and Greg managed to disentangle their respective body parts and curl together on their sides.

"I love make-up sex." Allison said tiredly.

"I'm sure we'll be having plenty of it." He assured.

"What's that suppose to mean?" She asked defensively.

"See?"

"Fuck you."

"Just did."

"Grrr."

"Do we need to have more make-up sex?" He grinned cheekily.

"Bastard."

"Actually my parents were married before I was born."

"Metaphorical bastard."

"There you go."

"You're impossible."

"That's why you love me."

Allison smiled, "Yeah... The sex helps too."

"True."

"Love you."

"Love you too, Mrs. House."

TBC

A/N- Yay rollercoasters!-Andi


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Parasitic

Chapter Seven: Miss You

"Are you coming back to bed?" Allison leaned heavily against the back of the couch, clad only in a pair of warm socks and a large t-shirt. Her eyes were heavy, signs that she'd awoken shortly after he'd climbed out of bed.

"Yeah," Greg leaned back, his arm winding backwards to wrap around the back of her neck. His lips grazed her chin, "I'll just be a bit longer." He said quietly, the mouthpiece of the phone pressed against his shoulder.

"Don't keep me waiting for you." She smiled before shuffling back to the bedroom.

"Wilson, you still there?" Greg asked as he pulled the phone away from his shoulder.

"Yup."

"Okay, my flight is at 9AM on Friday, and I'll be back-"

"Why couldn't we have talked about this at work in the morning?" Wilson grumbled, apparently very annoyed at the fact that Greg had called him at one in the morning.

"Because, I'm guaranteed a deaf wife while she's asleep here, and the hospital staff likes her better than me. They'll rat me out the minute I'm out of earshot." Greg pointed out, "The last thing I need is Allison pissed off at me for getting you to stalk her while I'm gone."

"She didn't sound asleep."

"She sleep walks, now shut up and listen. This is very important." Greg grumbled, "Just call and hang up, just to make sure she's okay."

"Do you want me to put a tracking devise on her too?"

"Already did."

"You didn't!" Wilson gasped.

"No I didn't, you idiot." Greg rolled his eyes, "I'm obsessive, not insane."

"Or both."

"I don't need to stalk my own wife. The sex I give her is too good for her to stray."

"House."

"Wilson, just watch over her. Her family can't be here, and with her nerves and the fact that she still is having trouble with morning sickness; I don't want her getting sick." Greg frowned.

"You're still anxious about everyone knowing, aren't you?" Wilson guessed, figuring that his friend's attention to Allison was mostly due to his need to distract himself from the fact that the entire hospital now knew that Allison was pregnant. Only the OBGYN knew it was with triplets though.

"Just do it." Greg hung up the phone and stood up, feeling a dull ache in his leg. The cold had been bothering his leg lately, and it was damned near impossible trying to hide the telltale increase in his usual limp from her. Ever since he'd built up the strength in his leg, his limp had become nearly unnoticeable to everyone except himself and Allison.

Arriving in his bedroom, Greg found his wife already asleep, curled tightly in a nest of blankets that he knew that he'd have a hell of a time prying from her grip. Finally coaxing some of the covers from her grasp, Greg slid into bed and curled up against Allison's sleeping body. Unconsciously, she snuggled back against him, sighing in her sleep.

-----------------------

"Good morning, Dr. House." Tina from cardiology smiled warmly as Allison passed by. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Allison mumbled, feeling her face turn bright red. She was still paranoid about people treating her differently now that they all knew she was pregnant. The non-too-subtle trip to the OBGYN department had made a brushfire of rumors pop up, Wilson, Cuddy and Foreman were being nagged for answers to the staff's suspicions. Chase remained in the dark the whole time, for the members of the hospital figured that he would be the last individual with any useful information concerning the couple.

The most amusing part had been choosing their doctor. Her husband had insisted that Chase was one male co-worker too many that had seen his wife naked, and refused to have anyone but Melissa handling their case.

With a wry smile and a playful nudge, Allison had at least accepted Greg's request with little complaint. Needless to say, Melissa had been utterly shocked to discover the presence of three separate fetuses. However, thanks to the nifty law of patient/doctor confidentiality, the rest of the hospital was left blissfully unaware of the multiple bundles of joy the recently married couple were expecting.

Things were a little less than wonderful for Lisa Cuddy, however, who was being nagged by multitudes of hospital staff saying it was unfair to take Gregory House away from his wife during their first pregnancy.

Lisa had to defend herself continuously, especially when her own receptionist joined the argument.

"Why," Lisa slammed into Wilson's office, "is everyone treating me like the anti-christ!"

Wilson groaned, "Lisa," he coaxed, "they're only acting this way because Greg's been noticeably less irritable since he and Allison got together, and they want to keep the hospital running peacefully."

"Uh huh."

"Not too mention, it's more for Ally's sake than his." Wilson pointed out, "Everyone likes Ally!" He laughed, "And they don't want her by herself."

"I hate my job."

"No you don't."

"I know, but sometimes, I really hate my job."

"Me too." Wilson nodded.

Laughing, Lisa shook her head, "So, what are you doing tonight?"

"You mean besides bugging Allison's phone and putting a GPS locator on her?" Wilson saw Lisa's look and quickly explained, "Greg's got me secretly babysitting her while he's gone."

"Oh." Lisa smiled nervously, "He's not pissed off at me is he?"

Shaking his head, Wilson scoffed, "Please, you've done worse things to him than dragging him away on a lecture."

"While his wife is pregnant?" She supplied.

"She's in her first trimester. It's not like he'll risk missing the birth."

"No, but first trimester is when some of the worst complications happen." Lisa rung her hands nervously. She was guilt tripping herself and she knew it, but, alas, she couldn't resist. After all, if anything happened to Allison while Greg was away; Lisa would never be able to forgive herself!

"Stop worrying so much." Wilson gave Lisa a nudge, slowly circling an arm around her shoulder. He took her hand and said quietly, "She'll be fine, and you'll realize how silly you were being."

Smiling, Lisa looked at him and wondered what was truly stopping her from just caving in and letting him take her out again. Their date the previous weekend had been perfect, but he had told her that he wouldn't ask her out again until she felt more secure. Indeed, Lisa had spent a good amount of time stammering over phone calls from the hospital, too nervous to let on that she was on a date. She had also, ducked behind a pillar in the art gallery when she _thought_ she saw an employee coming in. Lisa understood why Wilson wouldn't ask her out again until she straightened out her priorities, but it was still exasperating trying to decide how she wanted to proceed with her life.

"Just a little more time." She sighed.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Lisa smiled at Wilson, "Nothing at all."

--------------------------

"I'll call you when we get to the hotel." Greg kissed Allison's lips, "Take care of yourself, and if you don't feel well enough to go in, just _call off_." He pleaded, something no one ever got to hear him do except Allison, and on very _very_ rare occasions, Lisa.

"What is this "call off" you speak of?" Allison teased her husband, letting playful, light kisses caress his face.

"Be good." He gave her butt a quick swat before kneeling down, "And be good to mommy, you three." Greg said sternly to her belly, "No more morning sickness while I'm gone." He kissed her stomach a few times before using the end table by the front door to help him rise back up.

"Love you." Allison kissed him one more time, "Don't make Lisa pull out all of her hair."

"Where's the fun in that?" He teased, "Love you."

Kane gave little yip as Greg grabbed his suitcase, "And what do you want?" He asked the dog suspiciously. She yipped again, and Greg gave in, giving her a brisk scratch around the ears before grabbing his stuff and walking out the door. "Bye, love you."

"Love you too." Allison called after her husband as he walked down the hallway. With a sigh, she closed the door and leaned against the wall beside the door. She released an annoyed groan, running her hand over her belly. "Miss you." She pouted to herself, already wishing it had been a week.

------------------------

"Hey, Ally."

"Hi, Wilson." Allison shuffled down the corridor towards her office.

"You look terrible." He frowned, "Are you feeling okay?" He asked carefully.

"No!" She went into her office and slammed the door behind her. Allison immediately felt guilty, but it had been her first morning coming to work without her husband. As if that weren't enough, her back was aching, her breasts were killing her, and she'd only managed to keep her breakfast down for a half hour. Morning sickness had been a crap shoot lately. Either she was fine all day, or she went the whole day without keeping down a single meal. Deciding that this wasn't going to work for two more months, Allison left her office and went to the OBGYN floor.

"Hi, Allison." Melissa stammered upon seeing her new patient, "How are you holding up?"

"Morning sickness is evil." Allison frowned and Melissa smiled comfortingly. "I'm really not keeping much down."

"Increased symptoms can sometimes accompany..." Melissa trailed off, realizing that she shouldn't be talking about her newest patient's symptoms out in the open. "Come on to my office." Allison followed Melissa, "As I was saying," Melissa began again, in the safety of her office, "increased symptoms can sometimes accompany a multiple pregnancy."

"I know." Allison groaned, "I'm already sick of this though. I'm not gonna make it!"

Melissa laughed, "You'll make it." She assured.

"Uh huh." Flopping her head against the back of the chair she'd plopped into, Allison seemed even more skeptical, "Is..."

"Is?"

"Is there... Do you know if Greg's acting any differently than most expecting fathers?"

"House acts differently than most men all together, whether they'll be fathers or not." Melissa pointed out. "I'm not going to lie though. He's changed a _lot_ in the last year." The OBGYN frowned slightly, "Not just the limp or anything. His attitude's changed a lot too."

Allison frowned now too, "He's not the same person, but then again, neither am I."

"No, you two seemed to have blended into one another. Kind of scary really." Melissa shook her head, "I don't know, but the idea of House being a father is one my mind can't even comprehend." She admitted, "Something about visualizing him doing that "ga ga" talk just doesn't seem natural."

Allison laughed, but just shook her head, not saying anything either way.

---------------------

"Would you stop giving me the death glare?" Cuddy growled at her agitated companion.

"I'm not glaring." Greg defended himself, "I'm merely staring at you trying to make you feel guilty. If you consider this a glare, then I have succeeded."

With a groan, Lisa flung her head back against her seat, "You're impossible."

"Why won't you go out with Wilson again?" He changed the subject.

Caught off guard, Lisa's mouth opened, shut and then opened once more. "I-..." She thought for a moment, "Right now, everything is kind of crazy. One of my best doctors is pregnant, my best doctor is the father, and right now doesn't seem like the best time to start dating _another_ one of my best doctors."

"How many of your doctors can be the "best"?" Greg leered.

"You know what I mean." Lisa glared, "Everyone is the best at their own thing. In Allison's case, it's dealing with you."

"You have yet to manipulate my wife against me, and you know it." Greg smirked with amusement, "If anything, I've gotten her to work her charms against you for my benefit."

"And I got you on this trip how?" Lisa asked innocently.

"That," Greg pointed a finger at her, "is entirely different."

"How so?"

"Leverage." He said simply, putting his earbuds in to listen to his ipod.

Rolling her eyes, Lisa chose not to try anymore.

--------------------------

"I'm going home." Allison leaned heavily against the doorframe of Wilson's office.

"Are you okay?"

Shaking her head, Allison put her hand to her stomach, "I really don't feel good, and no amount of napping on my husband's vacant couch will cure me."

"Do you want me to drive you home?" He offered.

"No, I won't have a car to get to work on Monday if you drive me home today." She pointed out, "If Greg calls my office, have him call me at home, okay?"

Wilson nodded.

----------------------

"Hey, Allison's not in her office, and she's not picking up her cell phone." Greg told Wilson as he flung his suitcase onto his hotel room bed.

_"She wasn't feeling good, and she cut out around one this afternoon."_

"Is she all right?" He asked, trying to push away the nervous sound in his voice.

_"She's fine, just her usual after lunch sickness wouldn't go away, so she went home."_

"Okay." Greg hung up the phone and quickly dialed their apartment. The phone rang four times, and he heard the machine click on, but Allison got to the phone before the recorded message could play, "Hey."

_"Hey yourself."_ Allison sounded groggy.

"You okay?" Greg asked carefully, "Do you need anything? I'll call Foreman or Wilson and force them to be your beckon call boys while I'm gone."

With a weak laugh, Allison assured him, _"I'm fine. I swear, I'm fine. Just kinda tired."_

"Okay, you get to bed then, and don't be afraid to call off on Monday if you're still not up to it." Greg made her promise.

_"All right, baby."_ He could hear her yawn, _"Love you."_

"Love you too." Greg responded before he heard the line disconnect.

Hanging up the phone, Greg began to pace his room. He hated being so far away from her when he knew that she was already miserable. He hated that she was all alone, no one but her dog to keep her company. It wasn't fair.

--KNOCK KNOCK--

"Who's there?" Greg called.

"Lisa." Cuddy called from behind the door.

"Lisa who?" He flung the door open.

"Lisa's gonna kick your ass if you're not ready for dinner in the next ten minutes. I'm starving!" Cuddy growled.

"That's a very long last name."

"Shut up and put your shoes on."

"Is it a compound surname?" He asked, goading her further.

"Get. Your. God. Damn. SHOES!" Lisa screeched, and apparently he'd been getting a lot of nasty talking to, because he seemed to deflate rather quickly. "What's wrong with you?" She asked as he went to slide his shoes back on.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"So?"

"What's wrong?" Lisa demanded. "You never stop an argument that easily."

"Nothing's wrong." He insisted, grabbing his hotel room key and closing the door behind them.

"Aw, is Ally domesticating you?" Lisa teased, but at his sour look she quickly quieted. Thinking for a moment she realized what was probably happening, "I know it must be hard for you two right now."

"Jimmy's my psychiatrist, Cuddy." He leered at his boss, "When Ally stops showing me her tits, then I'll come to you for help." That earned him a hard smack over the back.

"Ass."

"She's just sensitive right now." Greg gave her as little information as possible, just to get her to leave the subject alone, "We're fine."

"You? Dealing with sensitivity?" Lisa joked, gasping for air, "Hell hath frozen over!"

"Shut it."

--------------------------------

_"Dr. James Wilson."_

"Hey, Jimmy, it's Ally." Allison mumbled into the phone's receiver.

_"Hey! Did Greg get ahold of you the other night?"_ He asked.

"Yeah..." Allison curled onto her side in bed, "I'm not coming in today." She said softly.

_"Do you need someone to come over? I haven't heard from you all weekend! I can send-"_

"No, no... I just couldn't sleep very well this weekend, and now I'm just really tired." She assured, squeezing her eyes shut as another wave of nausea hit her. "I'll talk to you later."

_"Bye, Al-"_

Allison hung up the phone, effectively cutting him off, "Why can't you three behave and let me eat something?" She begged, rubbing her stomach, trying to soothe away the twisting.

Burying her face into the pillow, Allison tried to snuff out the smells around her. She could smell the pasta sauce from the spaghetti she'd made the night before and then not eaten. She could smell the overwhelming scent of her body wash still perfuming the air heavily from her earlier shower. She could smell the musky dog smell that rolled off of Kane in waves. Everything around the woman seemed to influence her stomach to spin around like it had been thrown into a washing machine. God spare her when she reached the rinse cycle.

"Please, babies." Allison squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to cry, but feeling so helpless that she couldn't prevent the choked sob, "I'm starving, so you guys must be too!"

Staring at the carpeted floor as her hand lay limply on its surface, Allison ran her fingertips over the coarse fabric. Her fingertip traced back and forth, drawing little unrecognizable symbols into the carpet as it darkened when drawn away from the preset striations.

"Maybe just some water." She dragged herself from bed and stood up, making her way to the bathroom for something to drink. As she took each step, her vision seemed to narrow, and her pulse went frantic.

Halfway across the carpeted floor, Allison swayed, recognizing the symptoms of dehydration. Turning to reach once more for the phone, Allison sat back down on the bed as she went to dial. Before she could enter the entire number, her vision faded and she slumped backwards on the bed in a full faint.

TBC

A/N- Heya, guys! Thanks for waiting! Please review! And I'll try and get chapters out a bit quicker! Only 6 more weeks of SCHOOL!!! And then I'm all yours! LoL- Andi


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Parasitic

A/N- Heya, Alex! I'm entirely flattered at your offer to translate my stories to Italian! If you want to take the time to do it, by all means, go right ahead. I would translate my stories, but in all honesty, my grasps of other languages are minimal, and my writing would come out extremely childish in a foreign language :(. So, I totally accept your offer! lol- Andi

Chapter Eight: Darkness

Lisa Cuddy barely contained her scream while Greg was standing at the podium, preparing to speak at the conference. As he cleared his throat to begin, there was suddenly a loud, electronic jazz sound coming from his pocket. Unashamed, Greg reached into his breast pocket of the only suit he owned, and extracted his cell phone.

Without so much as an "excuse me", he flipped open the phone, turning away from the podium.

Coming to the rescue, Lisa rose quickly and nearly toppled the podium over in her hurry to save the chances of still getting the money the prospective investors had to offer.

The brushfire of agitated murmurs made Lisa's face redden, as Greg plugged his ear with his finger, trying to hear the voice on the other line.

"Slow down, what happened?" He nearly hollered, "Jimmy, _breathe_! What happened... WHAT!?" Snapping his phone shut, Greg handed his hotel key to Lisa, "Pack up my stuff, I have to get back to New Jersey."

"What hap-"

"Ally's in the hospital, and not in the working sense." He provided, jumping haphazardly off of the mock stage, and nearly causing his right leg to crumble under the strain.

Unable to question her employee, Lisa swayed slightly as she looked at the audience, and the quickly retreating form of her unruly diagnostician. "His wife is pregnant." She supplied, and a fresh wave of nods and murmurs flurried once more.

-----------------------

"I don't know when exactly she passed out." Wilson told his friend, seeing him practically stomping into the hospital six and a half hours after he'd first called Greg.

"Where is she?" Greg asked, snagging his wife's chart from Wilson.

"She's just on an IV." The oncologist assured. "Melissa's monitoring her constantly. She feels really bad that she didn't take more concern when Allison said she was having bad morning sickness."

"Well, she should feel bad." Greg read through the chart, "Her amnionic levels are low."

"Just a little-"

"This is serious-"

"I know!"

"NO YOU DON'T!" The whole hospital floor seemed to freeze, staring at the two doctors nervously. In a low hiss, Greg said quietly, "Everyone here thinks that she was miserable because I was gone. They ignored the fact that she was rapidly dehydrating because they thought that she just missed me. Well," he spoke loudly for everyone to here, "just in case anyone was left unaware- Allison is _perfectly_ capable of surviving without me." He hollered.

"Greg-"

"Shut it."

"She did miss you."

"That doesn't mean it caused her to dehydrate herself."

"No," Wilson agreed, "it doesn't. But it does suggest that she was so adement about _not_ letting anyone notice, that she put herself in danger."

With a groan, Greg couldn't help but agree. He knew that Allison had probably pushed away all assistance while he'd been gone, just to prove that she was still the same, independent woman she had been before they were together.

Arriving at Allison's hospital room, Wilson quickly made himself scarce.

"Are you going to say "I told you so"?" Allison asked.

"Yup." Greg nodded.

"I'm sorry." She flopped against her pillow, looking at where her IV was inserted, just so she wouldn't have to look at her husband.

"You should be." He sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"So it's my fault then?" She glared.

Nodding, Greg supplied, "Of course it is."

"How can you say-"

"Quite easily." Greg snarled, "You've been so... So, busy proving to everyone that you can do _everything_ that you forgot that you couldn't."

Allison glared. Here she was, in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and he was reprimanding her? "Go to hell."

"I'm there right now." He assured.

"You bastard." Allison sniffled, curling away from him and lying on her side to not look at him.

"Oh, boo hoo, Ally." He stood up, planting his hands on his hips. "Why? For once in your damn life, can't you think of yourself? Why does it always have to be about everyone else? I've got news for you, my dear ball and chain, we're going to be parents _this year_! Do you know what that means? It means that thinking about just ourselves is about to end. FOREVER. So for once in your life, can you think about you while you still have the chance? And if it helps stroke your overdeveloped sense of martyrdom, think about the three lives growing inside you. If you can't do anything for yourself, then do it for them."

Allison remained on her side, staring at the wall. "I hate you."

"I love you." He replied.

"I HATE YOU!" Allison turned abruptly, throwing the clock that had been on the nighstand at him. "GET OUT!"

"You tore out your IV." He said, rubbing his forearm where he'd ricocheted the clock off of.

"I don't care." Allison wiped her bleeding arm with her hospital gown.

"I do."

"I don't give a fuck if you care." Allison turned onto her side once more, curling into a ball so he couldn't get to her arm.

Her actions did little to prevent him from climbing onto the hospital bed with her and wrap his arms around her coiled body.

"I don't want to do this anymore. I want an abortion." She said softly, causing Greg to recoil from holding her.

"Ally-"

Jerking awake, Greg woke up just as the plane landed on the runway. His hands went to his face, and the cold sweat that dripped from his head assured him that he had truly had the worst nightmare of his life.

"Are you okay?" The woman sitting next to him asked nervously.

Not saying anything to the nosey woman, Greg got up and went towards the exit of the plane.

-----------------

Arriving at the hospital, Greg zoomed past Wilson, heading straight for the room he'd dreamt Allison had been in. Frighteningly enough, she was actually in that room.

Her eyes blinked open slowly, and the weak smile she gave him broke his heart.

"Are you going to tell me "I told you so"?" She asked.

Mutely, Greg shook his head, feeling a constriction in his throat.

Allison smiled a little bit more, "Come here." She scooted carefully over on the bed, and Greg sat down on the cleared space, his entire body rigid.

"I love you."

Allison grinned, "I love you too." She nuzzled against his hand that he'd placed on her pillow, "I've made a decision."

Greg swallowed hard. "Ally-"

"You're not allowed to leave my side for the rest of the pregnancy." She smirked, but when she looked at his face she frowned, "Baby, you're pale as a ghost..." She said softly, sitting up, "You... You're shaking!"

Indeed, he was shaking from head to toe, and his face had begun to perspire.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, raising a hand to his forehead, "You're not warm."

With another shudder, he confessed, "I fell asleep on the plane."

"I thought I was the one who got airsick." She smirked.

"I had a nightmare."

"Wow, I've had one of those too before!" She said sarcastically.

"We got in a fight, you wanted an abortion." Allison froze, "And then I got here, and you were in the room that I dreamt you were in... And the first thing you said to me, was the first thing you said in my dream."

"I think your precognitive abilities are only accurate for a few sentences." Allison assured him, "I don't want an abortion. One, I don't believe in it. And two... How could I ever want to kill something that's a part of you and I?"

"Just a bad dream." He assured.

"No shit." She laughed, curling her arms around him, and tugging him downward to lie beside her, "Think we could get a nurse to hijack some lime jell-o for us?" She joked.

"I could get you-"

"No, I don't want you to leave me..." Allison snuggled against him as she hit the call button. Nurse Angie responded promptly, "Angie, can you get us some lime jell-o?" She mock pouted, giving her best pleading expression. Angie just rolled her eyes and left, but she returned shortly with two large bowls of the green, jiggly stuff.

"Nicely done."

"Thanks." Allison took a spoonful of jell-o.

"So, what happened?" Greg asked softly. "Dehydration, I can guess how that happened, but... Jimmy didn't tell me much over the phone."

"Called off work." Allison slurped more jell-o. "Wilson came over to check on me during his lunch break... I'm assuming _you_ gave him a key to our apartment?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Which proved to have been a good idea." He pointed out.

"True." Allison sighed, "Anyway, he couldn't wake me up, so he brought me here, they put me on an IV and voila."

"You didn't fall did you?" He asked.

"No, I recognized what was happening, so I sat down on the bed to call for help."

"Good girl." He kissed her forehead, "Just... Take it easy, okay?" Greg said carefully, "I know you want to prove to everyone that you're more than capable of taking care of yourself, but-"

"Baby, if I learned anything from this, it's that I obviously _can't_ do this entirely by myself." She frowned a bit, staring at her bowl of jell-o. "Melissa says my amnionic levels are low."

"I figured as much." Greg rubbed his face briskly with his hands, "So, I guess it's my duty to hydrate you then." He teased.

Nodding playfully, Allison sighed, "I just hope it's maternal dehydration and not a complication of a multiple pregnancy."

"I'm sure it's dehydration." Greg nodded.

"Since when are you the one who goes for the easy diagnoses?"

"Since it's my kids and my wife who are effected." He said sternly.

Smiling softly, Allison ran her hand through his hair, "You're adorable."

"Uh huh."

"They didn't need you at the conference did they? I mean, everything is okay, right?" Allison asked nervously, not wanting to deal with her boss's wrath.

"Everything is fine."

"Good." Allison sighed.

He didn't want to worry her by admitting that he hadn't even been able to speak at the conference because he'd been called away the very minute he was suppose to talk. She didn't need the guilt, and he wasn't about to shove it onto her.

"I do have to call Cuddy though." He explained. "Think your IV will keep you hydrated for a few minutes so I can use the phone?" He teased. Allison jokingly took a moment to decide before nodding. "Be right back." Greg assured, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.

Out in the hallway, Greg went to the phone at the nurse's station and called his boss.

_"You better have a damned good reason for-"_

"Ally had to be put on an IV." He explained, "It was an emergency. She needed me."

There was an extended silence over the phone before Lisa spoke at last, _"They said they needed to discuss their decision. They'll call in a week."_

"You coming back up now?" He asked.

_"Yeah, trip got cut short, but I'll be back on Wednesday instead of Friday."_

"I'll tell Wilson... Don't forget to bring my stuff."

_"This was all a plot so you wouldn't have to carry your own luggage, wasn't it?"_

"Yes, because I _want_ to buy a toothbrush I don't need." Greg rolled his eyes, even though Lisa couldn't see it, she knew he'd done so.

_"See you Thursday."_

"Bye." Greg hung up and went back to his wife's room, "So, how long does Melissa want you on that IV?" He asked.

"I can go home in about an hour." Allison assured, letting her eyes shut softly. "Now come here and keep me company." She smiled lazily.

Doing as he was asked of, Greg slid onto the hospital bed and wrapped his arms around Allison's waist. She snuggled against him, and napped for the remainder of her hour.

As she slept, Greg couldn't help but wonder where his nightmare had manifested from. Maybe it was because he felt less than confidant about becoming a father. However, perhaps most of the dream had come from Allison's own insecurities that she'd shown before he had left. Combining both of their anxieties seemed to be a reasonable result for dreaming such a thing. After all, wouldn't the doubts both of them had been feeling be resolved if they discontinued the pregnancy?

Unable to avoid the snort of dark amusement, Greg couldn't help but note his internal use of the word "discontinue". After all, it was a rather flowery word for abortion or even murder. He wasn't one to dampen words down to sound less truthful. He also wasn't one to consider a first trimester abortion "murder", but in his mind, he couldn't help but consider it that. Ceasing the growing life inside Allison seemed wrong to him, and that was what comforted him, because he knew that she felt the same way. Whether they were ready or not, it seemed obvious that neither were willing to stop what they'd begun. He didn't want her to have an abortion, and the look in her eyes when he'd mentioned his dream had Greg convinced that Allison didn't want that either.

Comforted, Greg continued stroking her belly. She wasn't rounding yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time. After all, Allison had already begun complaining about her clothes being too snug. Part of him prayed that Allison would leave him out of maternity clothes shopping, and only subject her sister-in-law to it.

Thinking further, that had Greg wondering another thing. Had Allison told her family yet?

He tried not to dwell on the potential answer. Greg knew that her family tended to leave big news for their get togethers rather than phone conversations. It seemed to him that Allison's family enjoyed seeing each others' reactions over just hearing them, and triplets was definitely big news!

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night..." Greg murmured in her ear, "Take these broken wings and learn to fly..." What compelled him to sing to her was beyond him, but his voice won over his brain, "All your life... You were only waiting for this moment to arrive."

As his low voice echoed in her ear, he heard Allison sigh and snuggle back against him, her head turning slightly so that her ear was closer to his lips. Smiling at her unconscious action, he continued to sing softly in her ear.

Hearing the door opening, Greg quickly clamped his mouth shut and turned to look at Melissa. "Hey." She said, standing nervously in the doorway. Had she heard him singing? "I... I'm sorry-"

"Can I take her home now?" Greg cut her off. He didn't want to hear it. It was hard enough for him not to snap at her, and he wouldn't be able to stop himself if she uttered another word that wasn't "yes".

"Yeah, I've got her release papers filled out, so you can go ahead and take off." Melissa teetered slightly, "I-"

"Why don't you get back to work. I can take it from here." Greg stood up, cutting her off once again.

Melissa's lip quivered before she turned back to the door; he saw this, but chose not to acknowledge it. She should feel guilty. Allison had told her what had been happening, but Melissa had just waved it off. Sure increased symptoms were to be expected with multiple pregnancies, but that was no reason to dismiss them!

"Ally, baby, wake up." Greg gave Allison's cheek a slight caress. Her eyelids flickered and her beautiful eyes looked at him. "We can go home now."

"Okay." Allison took out her own IV, much to Greg's amusement.

Getting Allison to agree to be put in a wheelchair, however, was not as simple as removing her IV. She kept insisting that she was perfectly capable of walking.

"Ally?"

"What?" She snapped as he urged her to get in the wheelchair once more.

"Remember when you said that you realized you couldn't to this all by yourself no more than an hour ago?" Allison seemed resigned to her fate at that meer statement, "Get in the chair."

With a grunt, Allison finally flopped into the wheelchair and was soon rolled out of the hospital with minimal staring.

------------------------------

"Home sweet home." Allison sighed as they came into their apartment.

"Yup, now to bed with you." Greg ushered her to the bedroom.

"I've been asleep all day!" She protested in a whining voice.

"No, you've been rendered unconscious via dehydration. Now you're going to sleep willingly!" He nudged her once again.

"But-"

"Sleep-"

"But I'm-"

"Sleepy-"

"No, I'm-" Her stomach gave a horrible growl and Greg just laughed.

"Fine, dinner, then sleep." Greg kissed her cheek, "Chicken noodle soup?"

"Sounds good." Allison snuggled up on the couch, popping in a movie.

Taking out a can of Campbells, Greg quickly heated it and brought it to Allison. "Even I can't screw up canned soup." He smiled as she began to eat it slowly, apparently savoring her delay in "bedtime".

When she'd finished her soup, Greg couldn't get her to turn off the movie she'd started watching, so he let her finish the film before once again trying to get her to go to bed.

"But I'm not even tired!" Allison whined around her toothbrush.

"Too bad."

"Are you practicing on me?" She glowered.

"Practicing for what?" His brow scrunched in confusion.

"Fatherhood." She teased, spitting out the toothpaste foam.

"I hope I do a better job commanding them than you. I suck at getting you to do anything." Greg rolled his eyes.

"Depends on what you're trying to get me to do." She pointed out, a playful smirk growing on her lips.

"Really?" He knew that look. That was the "Ally wants to play" look. Kane was already running from the bedroom, apparently cued by the tone of Allison's voice. "You up for that?"

"I can see you are." Allison pressed her tongue against the backs of her teeth.

It was true, he was hard already just by the smirk on her face and the sound of her voice. "You're manipulating me. You're forcing me to choose between your health and getting laid, and that's not fair."

"I'm not forcing you to do anything." She teased walking towards him with a sultry wiggle of her hips.

"Uh huh." Greg placed his hands on those beautiful hips when she got right next to him.

"Come on, baby," Allison cooed, "It's been a week since I made love to you." She jutted out her lower lip.

"I believe that's because you fell asleep while I was brushing my teeth the night before I left." He pointed out.

"So you're going to blame me?" She gawked playfully. "I'll have you know, the reason I keep falling asleep is purely because I'm currently the host of three of your offspring!"

"Hey! Technically, that's your genetic fault, missy." He jibed back, already inching them towards the bed, "You're the one who produced three eggs."

"Maybe they're identical triplets and I only produced one egg."

"Still your fault that they split." He replied nonchalantly as he nudged her onto the bed.

"Is not!" Allison protested as he covered her body with his.

"Is too."

"Is nommmm..." Allison mumbled against his mouth, her legs wrapping around his hips.

His body moved against hers through their clothes. Allison loved the resistance of the fabric, the friction it created, the sense of unattainability.

There was something about keeping their clothes on for a while that reminded her of their relationship before their _relationship_. Clothes were the barrier that had kept them from one another over the years, and as each article was stripped away, they grew closer and finally let the resistance end, succumbing to one another like she'd always wanted.

When their clothes had vanished during her philosophical moment, Allison mewled as his hand cupped her breast gently. Greg's hands on her were always touching her just how she wanted and needed to be touched. Somehow, her husband knew when to squeeze and when to caress, he knew when to fuck her and when to make love to her. He always knew.

"Love you." She moaned softly as he turned her onto her side and curled up behind her. Allison's arm wrapped backwards to grasp the base of his skull as his hand took her thigh and pulled it back against his hip.

Gently, he slid inside her, soft kisses pressing against her back in warm, little raindrops. Rolling against him in a fluidity that expressed many shared moments of intimacy, Allison crooned her words of love and adoration for the man behind her.

Greg whispered words of passion into her ear as the grip Allison had on his scalp belied the gentle motions of their combined bodies. Their plateau was reached slowly, and ebbed away just as smoothly, leaving them surprisingly sated, even Allison who usually peaked multiple times in a single coupling. Very little perspiration coated their bodies, for the lovemaking had been slow and gentle.

Idly, Allison wondered, even as she fell asleep, if her husband had intentionally made love to her so tranquilly. It would be a fine way to keep her from perspiring and exasperating her previous dehydration. With the smallest sigh of amusement, Allison fell asleep, cozy and warmed by her wonderment.

"Love you, Ally." Greg murmured in her ear even though he knew the words fell on deaf ears.

TBC

A/N- Heya guys! Thanks for waiting for me:'( I know, (Smacks hands) bad Andi! I made you guys wait to find out what happened to poor Ally! But please review!-Andi


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Parasitic

Chapter Nine: Uno, Dos, Tres

"Oh my God." Allison said breathlessly when she stepped into the kitchen the morning after her stint in the hospital.

"What?" Greg grumbled, scrubbing the kitchen counter with a look of malice in his eyes.

"You..." She rounded the kitchen counter and looked in the empty and sparkling sink, "You're cleaning!"

Throwing down the paper towel, Greg looked at his wife, "I'm just trying to make things easier on you." He mumbled, and Allison was left giggling over how adorable she thought he was.

"Come here." Allison hopped up onto the counter he'd just cleaned off, tugging him between her knees to hold his head to her chest, "You're amazing." She combed his hair with her fingertips.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Greg nuzzled against his wife's throat.

"Frosted wheat."

"I can do frosted wheat." He nodded, ducking down and into a cabinet. Emerging with the box of cereal, he set it next to his wife's leg, opened another cabinet to his right and grabbed a bowl, and lifted her leg to prop onto his shoulder so he could pull out a drawer beside his hip to grab a spoon.

"Too bad you're not Mr. Fantastic. Then you could get the milk without getting out from between my legs." She teased.

"It has nothing to do with milk. You just want me to have a larger penis." He teased back, pouring the cereal into the bowl before finally leaving his spot between her legs to retrieve the milk from the fridge.

"Baby, if your dick was any bigger, we'd have to completely cease sexual activity until after the kids were born just for their safety." Allison laughed as he came back with the milk and poured it into the bowl as well.

Allison jumped when the microwave beeped. She hadn't even been paying enough attention to notice it had been on. Some of the milk in her cereal bowl splashed out and coated her t-shirt with chilled milk.

"Drink this with your breakfast." Greg opened the microwave and handed her a mug.

Smelling it, Allison wrinkled her nose, "What is it?"

"Ginger root tea."

Allison groaned, she knew she remembered that smell, "My high school choir teacher used to make us drink this before performances." She sipped it and made a face, "I never did like it!"

Greg laughed as his wife ate her breakfast. However, when she looked at the clock, she nearly dropped her cereal, "Greg! Greg, we have to get to work!" She yelped, setting down the bowl and nearly dashing towards the bedroom.

"No, I called us off." He hollered after her, "You need another day to maintain stable hydration, and I don't trust you by yourself." He went to their bedroom, finding Allison half undressed. "I gotta stay home and babysit you."

"And what's on your activities list?" Allison teased.

"Movies, food, tv, food... And I think baby needs a bath." He joked, wrapping his arms around his half naked wife.

"Mm, can we do the bath part first?" Her arms rose to wrap around his neck.

"Whatever you like." He assured. "What do you say, little ones?" He knelt down awkwardly, placing his hand over her belly, "Ready for bath time?" He asked, planting noisy kisses on her tummy.

Allison shook her head in wonderment, "If only the folks at work could see you like this."

"Tell them, and our kids might find out what it's like growing up without a mother." He leered.

"Talking to the babies as if they could here him," she shook her head again, "Like they've developed an external auditory meatis; let alone an auditory system."

"Don't make me hurt you."

"In that cute little voice you do when you're talking to them-"

"THAT'S IT!" Greg rose quicker than Allison thought him capable, wrapping his arms around her thighs and hoisting Allison over his shoulder.

"Chatting away with my tummy!" She went on relentlessly.

Greg carried Allison into the bathroom and set her on top of the sink, inside the basin.

"The Menacing Doctor HOUSE-AH!!" Allison shrieked as Greg turned on the tap to the sink, and cold water went splashing against the base of her spine. Her panties were immediately soaked, and Allison struggled to lift herself out of the sink. "You jerk!" She gave a weak kick, catching him in the gut, but she'd been so distracted with lifting her bottom out of the way of the water, that her kick was more of a shove.

"You done making fun of me?" Greg asked, cupping her soaked butt, and holding her out of the faucet's spray.

Her eyes were defiant, "Cute baby voice." Allison's voice was more stern than the phrase deserved to express, and quicker than she could say the three words, Greg had dropped her once more into the sink.

"AH!" Allison flung her arms out to wrap around his neck, her legs doing likewise to his hips. "Manly! Manly Dr. House! Doesn't speak to growing fetuses that can't here him!" She assured, and Greg turned off the water to the sink.

"Much better." Greg turned and let Allison drop herself from her scared cat body wrap position. "Arms up." He told her as his hands went to play with the elastic of her underwear. Allison raised her hands, and Greg quickly pulled her baggy t-shirt off of her body, before doing the same with her soaked underpants.

Leaning against the sink, Allison watched as her husband got the water going in the bathtub. Her head tilted as he bent over to put the stopper in the drain, and Greg saw the little motion in the reflection off of the large, silver faucet of the bathtub.

"And what are you looking at?" he asked without turning to look at her.

"A very, _very_ nice ass." she smirked, even though the little grin was not noticeable through the distorted reflection.

Turning around Greg twirled his finger, making Allison quirk an eyebrow before giving him a little spin. With a nod, he straightened up entirely and went to his wife, wrapping his hands around her waist to cup her bottom, "Yours is nicer." He assured.

"Arms up." Allison said nonchalantly.

He did so, and Allison tugged his shirt off of him before pushing down his pajama pants. Climbing into the bathtub, Greg spread his knees so Allison could nestle up between them. Her hand rested on top of one of his knees her other trailing its fingertips against the inside of his thigh.

"Why, Mrs. House, are you trying to seduce me?" Greg asked in mock surprise.

"Try nothing," Allison replied cheekily, "I succeeded."

"Uh huh."

"Baby, I can feel you against my back," she tilted her head to stare at him pointedly, "I'm pretty sure you're seduced."

"Such trickery."

Allison replied with nothing more than to stick out her tongue at him playfully.

"Ally," House began wearily, "I thought I should tell you that I invited your family over for dinner this weekend."

Mouth slackening, Allison stared at her husband in utter horror, "Are you kidding me!?"

"I thought it was time to-"

"Greg," she interrupted worriedly, "I... Umm..."

"You're not still-"

"No! It's nothing like that! It's just... Well..." She nibbled her bottom lip against her teeth, "I sort of... Invited your dad... For dinner on Saturday night..."

"YOU WHAT!?" Allison could feel his entire body tense against her back, "Allison-"

"I had to!" Her voice was pleading, "I was going to tell you tonight; I swear! It's just-"

"You thought I needed to-"

"Because you've been so worried about-"

"Being the same father-"

"And he deserves to know-"

"That he's going to be a grandfather-"

"I did it more for your-"

"Mom... Than for-"

"Him."

There eyes met as Allison had twisted to look him dead in the eyes, "I understand." He said breathlessly.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled weakly, "Mom would want him to know."

"You're not mad at me?" Her voice was as weak as his smile.

"No. Never mad at you." Greg assured, nuzzling Allison's neck, a sound similar to a sigh escaping his lips, but it held more than an exhaled breath; it spoke of a long suffering.

"You'll see just how much you aren't him." She kissed his chin.

-------------------------

That Saturday seemed to arrive without another blink of the eyes, for soon enough, Allison was scurrying around the condo; she was doing her usual "guests are coming over" routine.

When Allison's parents buzzed to be let in, Allison gave the place one more quick glance before smoothing the front of her simple red and black dress. Mr. and Mrs. Cameron were ushered into the apartment with warm hugs from Allison and even Greg.

"We weren't planning on coming up until March," Mrs. Cameron shrugged out of her ankle length coat, sure signs that the east coast winter was in full effect, "but Greg called and I think we can guess what's going on?" She hinted, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Maaaaaybeeee..." Allison looked upward, a cute feign of innocence on her face.

"By the way, we didn't get a chance to call you and give you a heads up, but my father will be joining us this evening. I don't think he'll be here long if our last encounter is anything to go by." Greg hinted darkly, remembering vividly the Thanksgiving that John and his mother had shown up unexpectedly.

"Really? He wasn't at the wedding..." Matthew frowned, trying to remember if Greg's father had been there and his mind just refused to call upon the memory.

"No, he wasn't." Allison assured, "Greg's father wasn't too happy about us-"

A buzz came, signalling that more of the family had arrived. Allison quickly buzzed back to admit them entrance.

Soon the rest of Allison's family was in the condo, both of her brothers flocking around Allison excitedly while Lolie held Allison's nephew, Daniel, in her hands, trying to dodge tiny fists as her son thrashed.

"Well!?" Stephen yelped, "Well, _well_!?" Morgan had to hold his partner back to keep Stephen from shaking the poor youngest sibling.

"Jeez!" Allison couldn't help giggling.

There was another buzz, and everyone in the apartment paused as Greg's head whipped to look at the door. An awkward silence preluded Allison's short walk to the door, and everyone waited quietly until there was a knocking.

Holding her breath, Allison opened the door, admitting John into the apartment, "Good afternoon." She said in an even voice, even though part of her was automatically going into protective mode.

"Afternoon." He returned with a rather rigid nod of his head, sliding out of his coat. Allison immediately held out her hand to take it from him, always the gracious hostess despite flaring contempt.

John, however, hooked the coat over his forearm, letting it fold over his wrist. The tan coat pinched against his stomach as his hands folded; Allison's hand dropped.

"I suppose you asked me over to tell me you're pregnant." John didn't even state it as a question, more like an accusation.

The response the statement got was more than dramatic. Not only Allison's brothers shouldered against Allison, feeling the need to put a united front against her father-in-law, but the entire family. It was as if a wall had formed in the little space between Allison and the door, trapping John in between the two, seemingly iron-like, confines. Everyone had formed into a semi-circle, effectively trapping John, making his choice obvious; either play nice, or _get the fuck out_.

Apparently, playing nice wasn't in John House's social skills, for he merely untucked his coat from its place between his stomach and arm, and slid back into it. Unfortunately, his exit was not a silent one, "Hopefully you'll grow some common sense and leave him before he completely screws the kid up." John muttered as he flung the door open, but didn't get a chance to walk out of it before Greg's hand flew out and clasped like a vice onto his father's shoulder.

There was a slight recoil, almost imperceptible, but Greg felt it under his hand. Pulling his father close, Greg got his lips as close to the man's ear as he could, whispering from behind his back, something that no one else could hear. It must have been an alarming something, for John spun around, a wide eyed look consuming his features, one of near helplessness. However, Greg did nothing more than give his father a slight shove and slam the door in his face.

Turning around to look at his in-laws and his wife, Greg felt a bit nervous. He wasn't embarrassed by his father, everyone knew that because he'd blatantly said how much of an asshole the man was plenty of times. But the look on his wife's face made his heart break, she appeared ready to cry.

"This... That..." Allison began in a nasally voice as the wall of family members started to break away, taking the strength Allison had experienced in its embrace. "That was... That..." She spun on her heel and ran for the bedroom.

Greg only paused long enough to notice that Mrs. Cameron and Lolie were crying, Morgan not looking quite stable either, and that both Allison's father and brothers had taken to pacing. Then, Greg ran after Allison and curled up with her on their bed with Kane.

"Th-that wasn't-"

"I know." Greg murmured to his wife, pressing his mouth into her hair, "You didn't see it happening that way."

"I mean," she sniffled, "I-I didn't e-expect a fairytale e-ending, b-but," she sniffled again, "I di-didn't think he-he'd." She began to cry in earnest.

Kane rested her head on Allison's hip, her doggy eyes sorrowful as well, apparently channeling her owner's hurt.

"I-I didn't e-even get to t-tell my family." She choked. "I didn't get t-to say-"

"Shh." Greg held her tightly, "You can still say it."

"It's empty now."

"There's still a surprise."

"It'll be empty excitement."

"No, it won't." He assured.

"Do you think if we just stay in here, they'll all leave?" She whispered quietly, apparently soft spoken words kept her voice from breaking with sobs.

"I doubt it."

As he said this, they heard the front door close, and Allison began to cry again. "I didn't actually want them to leave!" She wailed, burying her face against her husband's chest.

"Maybe Lolie forgot one of Daniel's toys in the car." He reasoned, not wanting to leave her to check.

"Stop being optimistic!" She keened.

"One of us has to be," he glowered, "and you've been Miss Pessimistic lately, so I've been having to pick up your optimism slack." He teased weakly.

That comment at least stopped her from crying as hard.

Kane let out a low groan, and then a knock came at the door making Allison and Greg jump. The person on the other side didn't wait for a response, for the door flung open and Allison's family cascaded in.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Everyone shouted, Bryce coming up the rear with a giant cake that was blue and pink frosted with baby blocks drawn in icing and "Mommy-to-Be" written on the blocks.

Swiping away tears, Allison sat up and sniffled a bit, raising her arms up like a toddler wanting to be picked up. Mrs. Cameron immediately fell to the bed and hugged Allison, rocking side to side.

"Let's serve up that dinner." Jenny Cameron whispered in her daughters ear, getting a weak nod as a response. The two women got up and went to the kitchen, leaving Greg with his remaining in-laws.

"Thanks." Greg mumbled, "I should have tried to get a hold of you guys and had you come on Friday night instead of today-"

"It's okay." Matthew assured. "She'll be fine."

"It's still not fair though." Lolie glowered, and Greg wondered if it was directed at him. "You weren't lying, your dad really is a jack ass. What kind of guy ruins a woman's pregnancy announcement? Seriously!?"

"Well," Greg scratched his head, "we've got a couple other things to announce tonight."

"Ooh! Really?" Lolie squealed, "Well, let Ally do it."

"I will." He assured, and everyone trouped out the bedroom door and back to the living room. Kane followed close at Greg's heels, not wanting to be left out.

Setting her son down, Lolie followed Stephen into the kitchen to help serve the food Allison had prepared. Daniel crawled about the floor, making his way towards the large piano off to the side of the main floor of the living room. Kane lifted her head from where she lay under the massive instrument. The dog observed the little boy with peaked interest, her face wavering slightly from side to side, sniffing the air curiously. With a giant yawn, Daniel got up close to Kane's face and everyone watched with baited breath, for Kane had never been formerly exposed to small children. Morgan made a slight motion to go into defensive action, but he needn't have worried. Kane merely watched the baby wriggle closer and closer until he was right next to her. As Daniel snuggled up against Kane, resting his tiny head against the dog's ribs, a bitty hand curling into her soft fur, Kane flopped her head back down with a soft sigh.

Everyone let out a long exhale, obviously grateful that Kane didn't get defensive. On the contrary, the mutt curled tighter around the little boy, offering additional body warmth before falling into a light slumber herself.

"Dinner's ready." Jenny placed the final dish on the dining table.

As everyone was seated and drinks were served, they all fell silent, looking at Allison expectantly.

"Well?" They all chorused when Allison remained silent.

With a shadow of her earlier playful smile, Allison cleared her throat and stood up, tugging Greg's sleeve. "Well," she began, her cheeks flushing, "Greg's dad did manage to spoil the announcement of the baby, but," her smile turned into a grin, "I'd like to announce that we're having two-"

There was a large uproar, everyone standing up and embracing the parents to be; the food was temporarily forgotten.

"And, Greg, honey?" Allison cued.

"And," he rolled his eyes at his wife, picking up on how she'd planned to announce the multiple package, "I'd like to announce that we're having three." Everyone went silent, quickly catching on and letting out another shout of joy.

"THREE! TRIPLETS!" Lolie cried.

"Tres!?" Bryce asked excitedly

"Trois!?" Was Morgan's addition.

"San." Greg nodded, "Are we going to go through every possible language we know for the word "three"?"

"I think English, French, Spanish and Japanese cover all the bases." Jenny rubbed her eyes.

"Oh, is that what language "san" is?" Mr. Cameron looked bemused.

"Yes." Chorused Bryce, Stephen and Allison.

"I can't believe it... Triplets." Morgan fell into his chair heavily. "You two are going to have a handful!"

"Are you planning on getting a bigger place?" Lolie asked as everyone got back to their seats and began serving up their dinner plates with heaping amounts of smashed, redskin potatoes, pomegranate glazed chicken breast, and asparagus. Again, Greg watched in amusement, as he always did, when the family began dividing up their plates into the parts they liked the most. The stalks and spears of the asparagus were chopped up and divided amongst the group over who preferred which pieces. Only Mr. Cameron and Greg kept their entire lengths of asparagus to themselves. Maybe the urge to do this ran on Jenny's side of the family, Greg thought with growing interest. Was that trait based on heredity?

"We're thinking of getting a house a little later on. They won't need too much space right away..." Allison thought momentarily. "Right?"

"You might want to start looking soon." Lolie stabbed an asparagus stem with her fork, "Once they get a hang of crawling, they'll be all over the place! Daniel's been able to stand up with our help, but sometimes we're chasing after him even though he can only crawl!"

"And you're going to have three of them crawling around in every direction." Bryce pointed out.

"Not to mention," Stephen was diving into the redskin potatoes, "finding and purchasing a home can take a while, and you don't want to be rushing it. Starting to look now would probably be a good idea."

"It took Stephen and I months to agree on a good place to _look_ for a house! And then when we decided on that, it took even longer to find one we both wanted!" Morgan whined. "The animals were a pain to move by themselves, plus the furniture. Then you got to think about decorating, because you're obviously going to have more rooms to fill up." He teased.

"Are you trying to exhaust us with the details?" Greg asked dryly, his narrowed eyes showing just the faintest hint of amusement.

"Yes." Stephen, Morgan, Bryce and Lolie all chimed together.

"They're not exaggerating though." Mrs. Cameron pointed out regretfully, "I agree that you two should start hitting the real estate market soon."

"Thank God for the internet." Allison groaned.

"Do you think we can find a house in Mercer County that's not too far from work?" Greg frowned.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Allison beamed, "But right now, let's just glow in the idea that we'll soon be proud house owners."

"My optimist has returned!" Greg rejoiced, grateful that he would no longer have to carry her weight in that area. Let whatever higher power forbid he actually have a charming personality in the work place!

"You're just glad you don't have to worry about being nice to Chase." Allison glared playfully.

"Pretty much." He smirked darkly in return.

Rolling her eyes, Allison shook her head and quickly changed the subject, "Desert, anyone?"

The family quickly voiced their want for the french silk pie Allison had made, and she quickly rose to retrieve it.

The remainder of the evening was spent playing card games and watching a film before the family dispersed. With a weary sigh, Allison looked at the dishes that needed to be done, and regretfully banished herself to the kitchen.

Catching his wife about the waist, Greg placed his chin on her shoulder, "You go to bed, Ally," he whispered in her ear, "I'll get this." He jerked his head at the dishes.

A tired smile consumed her lips as she turned in his loose embrace, "You're amazing." She sighed, kissing his mouth with a glow of admiration, "I love you."

"Love you too." He returned, "Now, off to bed!"

Without reluctance, Allison turned and retreated down the hallway, "Lazy day tomorrow?" She asked, turning back to the kitchen.

Nodding his head, Greg leaned against the counter where the sink was, "Yup, just you, me, and the tv."

"Sounds great."

"Love you."

Allison grinned, "Love you." And she hopped down to the bedroom, ready for bed.

TBC

A/N- Yo, everyone! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for waiting. Soon, very soon I will be back to my regular postings! I promise! (Crosses heart!) Review please!-Andi


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Parasitic

Chapter Ten: Don't Ask

Allison was playing catchup. After her impromptu break, Allison found that paperwork had piled up tremendously. It didn't help that Melissa, who was still feeling guilty about dismissing Allison's symptoms, was constantly popping in to check up on her and make sure that the heavily pregnant woman was doing all right.

When Melissa poked her head in for the fifth time that day, Allison's head flung upward from her heaps of paperwork and snapped, "I'M FINE!" She shook a giant water bottle, "And staying hydrated!" It was true, she'd been managing to gulp down continuous amounts of fluids ever since her IV stint.

"Oh, okay." Melissa squeaked, exiting again, looking slightly abashed.

With an almighty sigh, Allison dropped her head once more to the papers in front of her. She'd finally broken down and let Rachel have a virtually free reign, and had resented it ever since. Part of the woman was annoyed that she was practically assigned a desk job, something she'd never anticipated as a doctor. Sure, she'd known that great amounts of paperwork came with the career choice, she just hadn't thought that they would _become_ her career!

And if the taunting pages in front of her weren't enough; that morning she'd discovered that her pants no longer fit. She'd managed to squeeze her changing body into them, leaving the buttons undone, and her shirt tail untucked to hide the fact that the trousers weren't fastened. But, eventually, Allison had been forced to leave the hospital shortly after arriving and acquire a set of maternity pants to get her through the day. The zipper on her pants had gone off the runner and now she couldn't keep them from sliding off! Now, she was dreadfully awaiting the end of the day when she would peruse the maternity shop for a new wardrobe that would adequately clothe the new, pregnancy induced curves of her body.

"Where should I put these?" Michael, Rachel's new subordinate, asked tentatively.

Growling in her throat, Allison glared at the stacks of papers on her desk, "Over there." She snapped with a gesture towards the empty chair in front of her desk.

Michael quickly plopped the new stack of papers onto the chair and made himself scarce.

"I hate my life." Allison grumbled rolling her aching wrist. "Tons of paperwork, a lack of a life, constant surveillance." She muttered in annoyance.

Lisa Cuddy chose to make an appearance during Allison's private ranting. With a shake of her own weary head, the Medical Director sat down in the only chair uncluttered by Allison's paperwork, waiting for the younger woman to take notice.

When Allison looked up to rest her eyes, she jumped at the seemingly sudden appearance of her boss. "What?" She growled.

Lisa merely shrugged, "Thought I'd see how everything was going in here."

Narrowing her eyes, Allison dropped her pen and leaned back into her chair, crossing her arms, "Yes, I seem to be the greatest sideshow attraction in the hospital lately."

"Don't think of it like that." Cuddy waved at her in a dismissing way, "Everyone just wants you to have a healthy pregnancy."

"I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are."

"Then why are you checking up on me?" Allison retorted.

Shrugging again, Lisa leaned into her own chair, "Because as your boss, it's my responsibility to make sure I'm not working you into a potential health hazard."

"Uh huh." Allison glanced at her mountains of papers, "You're doing a great job."

"You're becoming as sarcastic as your husband."

"I always have been."

"No, you usually applied sarcastic tones to true statements." Lisa laughed, "Now, you're an unhealthy mixture of both, and it's difficult to discern which statements are true, and which are truly sarcastic."

"Uh huh." Allison looked back down at her papers, "Maybe one of the kids picked up on it from their dad and I'm channeling them."

"Actually..." Lisa paused, causing Allison to look back up at her, "I was wondering how the two of you wanted to work with three kids."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I assume that you'll take maternity leave, but what about House? The hospital does apply paternity leave, I wasn't sure if you two wanted to take it at the same time though." Lisa explained, "Plus, you will be working long hours, and I wanted to discuss what arrangements you will be making as to how the children will be handled once you return to work."

Allison once again leaned into her chair, this time thoughtfully, "We haven't really discussed it..."

"I thought as much. With everything that's been happening lately, I figured you two would be a bit delayed in making your future arrangements." She smiled softly, almost encouragingly.

Leaning forward now, Allison propped her elbows on her desk and let her chin rest on interlaced fingers, "I don't want to be one of those parents who lets a babysitter or nanny raise their kids." Lisa nodded in understanding, "But, what can we do? Greg and I work long hours, sometimes even on weekends."

"Well, I was thinking that," Lisa raised her hands in a sense of defensiveness, "now this is only a suggestion," she assured, "but, well... House doesn't have too much patient interactions as it is, so I was thinking that perhaps you would be able to bring them to work with you."

_"What?"_ Allison was surprised, "You never let-"

"We've never had two doctors who were married in the same hospital. Not to mention two department heads." Lisa quickly inserted, "And we can't afford to have you two running back and forth all of the time." She immediately added, "Plus, if you're willing to let Rachel continue with her free reign, then you can continue the desk job and just bounce around until the kids at least start kindergarten."

Allison gawked for a moment before shaking her head to snap out of it, "I don't know if... I'll have to talk to Greg about it."

"Allison, you know I like you, and that I respect House." Lisa said firmly, "I don't want to lose either of you."

"I'll need to talk to Greg." Allison responded again in a slightly weaker tone.

"Of course." Lisa smiled as she stood up to leave, "Not to mention, I'm sure the staff would get a kick out of seeing House in "dad-mode"."

Allison laughed, "Don't tell him you said that."

"Of course not." Lisa stuck her tongue out with a cheeky smile, "I'll see you later. Don't work too hard." She said before leaving.

Allison smiled and went back to her paperwork. After another half-hour, she snuck off to her husband's department to meet him for lunch.

"Hello, Cutey." Greg greeted his wife with a soft kiss, "You hungry? I ordered us a pizza. I still have some work to do." He explained.

"You, working?" His wife was shocked.

"Ha ha. Don't worry, it's not school related." He teased, "I've been checking out the local real estate." He explained, handing her some printouts. They were of three houses currently on the market. The pictures were in black and white, but it was still possible to get a good idea of the layout and appearance. "Do you like any of them?" He asked, flopping back onto his desk chair and spinning towards his computer.

Allison glanced through them, reading the stats on the homes. She noted that the prices were blacked out. "Why did you black the prices out?"

"I didn't want you to pick the cheapest one out of humility. I want you to pick the one you _really_ want, not what you think we can afford. Believe me, I've budgeted and only printed out what I knew we could handle." He explained.

Allison laughed, "You're sucha sweety."

"Yeah, well, don't tell anyone."

With an eye roll, Allison kept looking at the homes, "I don't know... They're nice, but..."

"Not your dream home?" He teased. "I've also been looking at empty lots and architects." Greg looked up from the computer, "I figure if we decide relatively soon and hunted down a lot and architect, we could have our house built by december."

"Wow."

"What?"

"You're putting a lot of thought into this." She laughed.

Greg shrugged, "I just want you to be happy."

With a gentle smile, Allison dropped the papers on the couch cushion beside her and walked over to her husband. Without a second thought, she yanked the back of his chair and rolled him away from the computer, spinning him until he faced her and she could straddle his lap. "I love you so much." She sighed, resting her chin on his shoulder, her voice whispering in his ear.

Greg ran his hands down her back, cupping her bottom, "Love you too." His lips moved against her cheek as he spoke, "Do you want to build?" Her reply was a nod against his head.

"Lisa came to talk to me today." She said, still softly against his ear.

"About?"

"Our plans for when the kids arrived. Maternity leave, paternity leave, etcetera, etcetera."

"And you told her?..."

"That we still needed to talk about it."

There was a knock on the glass door to the office, Wilson was standing on the other side, holding a pizza.

"I snagged a slice on the way up with it. How goes the house hunt?" Wilson asked as he came in, tossing the pizza box onto the table.

"And who said you could have any?" Greg's eyes narrowed.

"I bought it! And I went and got it!" Jimmy snarked back.

"Whatever." Greg gave his wife's rear a hard pat to signal her to get up.

They all went to the couch and flopped down, flipping open the pizza box. "So? Houses?" Wilson encouraged the topic.

"We're going to build." Greg said simply, "We'll decide on an architect as soon as we find an empty lot to put it on."

"Wow, you two are really getting a house." Wilson nodded curtly, though his face was somehow surprised. "Chateu House."

"Ghu, not a chateu." Allison's nose scrunched. "I'm not very big on thematics."

"Modern." Greg nodded. "We'll have to choose an architect too, don't forget."

"Great, more planning." Allison mock cheered.

In the middle of their lunch, Chase came into the office unexpectedly, looking excited, "We've got a patient, and it should be an interesting case."

"The last time you said it would be an interesting case, we found that the woman had herpes and a drug problem. You're opinion no longer counts." Greg got up, still munching on a slice of pizza.

"Yeah, well, today we've got a transvestite."

"Is her name Lola?" Greg asked, still looking bored.

"How did you..?" Chase stared at his boss.

"He seriously calls himself Lola?" Wilson asked from the couch.

"Yeah, so?" Chase was still confused.

"Chase, it's gone over your head." Allison added sympathetically.

The Aussie shrugged and left, letting Greg turn to his wife and best friend, "I better make sure she doesn't make him a man."

Both Allison and Wilson chuckled a bit as Greg turned out of the office. Soon, they were eating the rest of the pizza in silence.

"So, how-"

"Ask me how I am and I _swear_ I will shove this pizza box down your throat." Allison threatened.

"All right..." Wilson grimaced, "Anyway, I have to get back to work." He fled for his life.

Allison sighed, leaning heavily against the arm of the couch. She hated that she was getting rather snappy at everyone, but she couldn't help how sick and tired she was getting about hearing the same questions from every single person who spoke to her!

With a weary groan, Allison slid down the length of the couch, resting her head on the arm before dozing off.

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty." Greg smiled as he nudged his wife into consciousness. "Good nap?"

"How long was I out?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Only a half an hour." He assured, helping her sit up. "I just remembered though. We were going to discuss our work plans for when the kids are born, and then Jimmy rudely interrupted us." He shook his head, "Distraction via pizza."

Allison laughed, "Well, Cuddy dropped by and was wondering if we were going to take our leave at the same time, or space it out. Like, I take mine, and then you take yours." She shrugged.

"I was thinking that maybe you can take yours in full, and I'll split mine up." Greg told her, "I get, what, 12 weeks or something?" He shrugged, "Anyway, I'll take part of my leave in the beginning, and then negotiate with Cuddy about the rest. So the first month we'll both be gone, and then the remainder, I can just take days off to help you out."

"Sounds like a plan." Allison grinned at him. "Cuddy also offered to let us bring the kids to work until they start kindergarten. I mean, she has a point, I can easily let Rachel do the patient work and just do the paper pushing for a while."

Greg tilted his head, "But that's not what you want..."

"Not really..." She confessed, "I don't know, honey." She leaned against him heavily, "I just feel like I keep having to make decision after decision."

"Yeah," Greg nodded in agreement, "but at least you're not making them alone."

She smiled gently, "Yeah." She agreed.

"By the way," he changed the subject, "Lola has a huge crush on Chase, I can tell."

Allison busted up laughing, "Oh, God!" She choked, wiping her eyes from tears of mirth, "That totally made my day!"

"I thought it would." He grinned at her, "I'll talk to Cuddy about our leave of absence." He assured her, "Now you, from what I hear, have heaps of paperwork. So get back to your job, and I can get back to making fun of Chase."

Allison sat up and kissed her husband before leaving his office.

She just needed to relax. She needed to stop fussing. She needed-

"Hey, Allison, how are you feeling?" A passing nurse asked.

SHE NEEDED PEOPLE TO STOP ASKING THAT QUESTION!

"I'M FINE!" She stomped to her office.

TBC

A/N- Hehe, I'm back (hopefully for good!), and yeah... How goes it? Really quick- The "Lola Joke". For anyone who doesn't get it- it's a reference to a song by the Kinks, called (you guessed it) Lola. Good song, decent message about gender specific roles etc. etc. and yeah. Just in their for making Chase uncomfortable. Review please!-Andi 


	11. Chapter 11

Title:Parasitic

Chapter Eleven: Flying By and Standing Still

In the first week of her second trimester, Allison felt like a new woman. As if the end of her first three months had caused a hormonal renaissance, Allison's morning sickness had evaporated. Of course, the ability to _keep_ her meals down had also caused a frightening increase in her weight, but soon even that came under control. Now, with the ever growing expanse of her belly, however, Allison was getting an onslaught of unwanted belly rubs.

This development managed to piss her off more than the constant fussings of, "how are you feeling today?"

Luckily, that wonderful hubby of hers managed to fend off most of the detested tummy touches with a well aimed glare. Although, with mild amusement, Allison realized that Greg's hand rarely left her stomach when they were together. As they walked side by side in and out of the hospital or down a hall, his arm would constantly be around her waist, a well placed hand splayed out over the bulge of her tummy. It was sweet, and reassuring. Somehow, even encouraging.

Adding to the insanity of their lives, Greg and Allison had agreed on an architect by the name of Roark. He was a, mostly, freelance architect who they both loved the work of. When they had agreed on Roark's blueprints, and a contractor was found, they confirmed the breaking of the ground on their new lot would take place the following Monday.

Floating around the hospital like a large butterfly, Allison ran her hand over her tummy with a wistful smile. Life was turning up finally, after months of fears and nausea. Now, she felt content and at ease, and she owed it all to...

Allison sighed as she came upon her husband's office and found him asleep on the sofa. Shaking her head, Allison went into the office and leaned over to kiss his forehead. His hand lay gently on the floor beside the couch, his arm hung over the sofa's edge; a sure sign that he'd come into his office and merely collapsed.

With a soft hum on her lips, Allison went to the balcony and leaned against the railing. Winter was beginning to taper off, and the cool rail felt welcoming. Sighing, Allison looked down at the street below. A couple of staff members were sitting at the loading station, smoking cigarettes and attempting to relax on their break. Above her the sky was a gentle blue with few clouds, another welcoming addition to the day, for the the past week had been overcast and gloomy. Allison wasn't sure if it was the weather, or just a balancing in her mood, but she felt wonderful. It felt as if she couldn't be happier and if she was, her heart would burst.

Puzzling as it was, Allison chose not to discern the origins of her feelings. If she questioned it, she would find a silly reason to bring herself down.

"I know it's warmer than usual," Allison jumped at her husband's voice, "but it's not a good idea to be out here without a coat." Greg reminded his wife, wrapping an arm around her and tugging her back indoors.

"I thought you were asleep." She admitted as they went inside.

"Just a nap." Greg flopped onto the couch he'd fallen asleep on. At her dazed look he asked, "What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"I'll call the papers."

"Shut it." She flopped onto the couch next to him. "I can't wait to see the house when it's finished." Allison sighed, dropping her head onto his shoulder. "Oh, I almost forgot!" She jerked her head upward with realization. "I came up here to tell you that Cuddy wants to see you in the clinic."

"When doesn't she want to see me in the clinic?"

"No, she's got a batch of interns showing up in ten minutes...Well..." She looked at her watch, "I guess they're here by now."

"And this means what to me?"

"Henderson broke his wrist yesterday in the ER when a patient bludgeoned him with a nearby tray." She explained.

"How did I miss that bit of excitement?"

"You were sleeping on the couch."

"Oh yeah."

"Anyway, he's not going to be back until tomorrow and Lisa couldn't delay the program. She needs you to fill in just for today." She assured. "I'd do it, but I still have-"

"Paperwork, paperwork." Greg nodded before a look of total mayhem consumed his features, "Can you do me one little favor before you get to your own work?"

Allison looked at him slyly, "What?"

"Walk passed the third exam room in the clinic in," he appeared to do a quick calculation, "fifteen minutes... Starting... NOW!" He lept up and ran out the door.

Lisa seemed surprised when Greg actually appeared in the clinic in a timely manner.

"Everyone!" Cuddy addressed the small congregation, "This is your supervisor today." She immediately ran away, to observe from a distance to see if her prized doctor would deliberately harm them.

"Good morning." Greg put on a faux, cheery face, lulling the five interns into a false sense of security, "I am Dr. House, this hospital's resident egotistical doctor with a God complex." With that their hopes were shot down, "And as your God I have my own list of commandments." He gestured for them to follow him as he headed towards the clinic. "Commandment number one. I am your God, thou shalt not give credit to Him," he gestured upward, "unless by Him, you mean Me." There was a tremor of giggles, which he glared at. Seeing his wife approaching, he quickly continued, "Commandment two. Thou shalt not rub Dr. House's belly." Another shimmer of laughs, "And commandment three. Thou shalt not ask Dr. House how she is feeling today." The laughter stopped at the word "she". Wrapping an arm around his wife's waist he continued, "This is Dr. House." He pointed at his wife, "Do not touch." He glared at the guys, "This is also the property of the Dr. Houses." He pointed at his wife's growing belly, "Do not touch this either." This time he glared at the two female interns, "Are these commandments understood?" Everyone nodded, "Anything to add, Dr. House?" He asked his wife.

"Second trimester. Triplets. Don't ask me how I feel. That is all you need know." Allison confirmed. Then with a sense of finality, she added, "And we are totally serious."

Greg flopped onto the bed that he shared with his wife, Kane curling up next to him as he took a moment to catch his breath. Allison had gone grocery shopping, leaving him behind to rest. Now, it was just him, the dog, and a flask full of bourbon. He was exhausted, and the signs were starting to show. Even Kane had noticed as she rested her head on the taut muscles of his back. He felt and heard the dog let out a long sigh as if to express that she understood how he felt.

Turning onto his back, Greg let Kane drop her head onto his stomach once he'd changed positions. Twisting to grab the flask that Allison had given him for their first Christmas as a couple, he took a long swig and then flopped once more against his pillow. It seemed like his feet were stuck to fly paper and the world was spinning around him in double time. There were so many things to do, so many plans to make, and he felt like he'd failed at them all already. He didn't like planning, he didn't believe in plans, and now his lack of looking ahead had bit him on the ass once again. Why hadn't he considered what they would do if Allison got pregnant?

"That's an easy one," Greg took another sip from his flask, answering his own question with a hint of bitterness, "she was on birth control, and we put way too much stock in it."

The fact that he was a doctor, and knew for a fact that the pill wasn't a 100 percent answer, just managed to piss him off more, because it meant that, once again, he had neglected to face reality.

"You're going to be all right with three little genetic splices running around, right?" He asked the dog uncertainly.

Kane let out another groan that could either mean that she'd "deal with it", or that she was getting annoyed with his rhetorical questioning.

"I just feel like I'm letting her down." Greg scratched Kane's head with his flask free hand. "I just don't know what I should be doing."

Kane looked at him and wagged her tail.

"Does that mean that I'm doing everything that I can?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow, and she licked his hand with the flask, "Or does it mean that you need to get shit-faced too?"

When Allison arrived home, she found her husband passed out on the bed, feet hanging off of the edge, an empty flask discarded on the floor, and Kane asleep on top of him.

With a soft smile, Allison went over and picked up the flask, giving it a shake. It was empty. Shaking her head, she went to the bathroom and rinsed it out before drying it and returning the container to its usual hiding place in her husband's sock drawer. When she was finished with that, she went over and took Greg's shoes off of him, giving Kane a quick pat on the rear so that she'd get off the bed. Next, she managed to slide his body up the bed and pull the blankets up from under him to wrap around his sleeping form. As an after thought, she reached under the comforter and undid his belt, giving it a swift yank and pulling it from his pants. Tossing it aside, she went and made herself dinner, and extra food just in case her husband woke up later and was hungry.

Allison did the dishes and all of the other mundane tasks that she'd piled upon her husband lately, and then finally went to get ready for bed herself. First she put away all of the groceries, then brushed her teeth and dressed for bed.

As she curled up along side her husband, it was with a guilty conscience that she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his throat gently. She knew that he was worn out, and she felt bad that she had been the leading factor in his fatigue. He'd been so great to her, taking care of her, and still managing to give her the space she needed and independence she craved.

If anyone ever called her husband an uncaring bastard ever again, she would smite them with all the power that she could muster. No one could compare to her husband, and she'd bitch slap anyone who said otherwise.

"I love you so much." She tried not to let her voice shake, or let the wild emotions she felt waver into her vocalization. "I just wish so much that I could do everything for you that you've been doing for me." Her head nuzzled against his chest, as her fingers tickled down his stomach. She wanted to give him everything that she could, wanted him to be able to relax too. Instead, she was the one napping on his couch, and ducking out of her office every twenty minutes. She even suspected that her husband had been moving some of her mountains of paperwork, because when she'd returned to her office after her cat nap on his sofa later that afternoon, she could tell that there was at least one less stack of folders.

Mind plagued, Allison slid back out of bed and went to the living room, picking up the laptop that had been left on the coffee table. Flicking it open, she began surfing aimlessly. She spent another hour looking at different sites, trying to quell her unusual bit of insomnia. When she'd grown bored with this, she snapped the laptop shut and sighed.

Leaning back against the sofa, Allison looked around the apartment. She stared at the piano. How long had it been since she'd heard him play? When was the last time she fell asleep to him at the piano, filtering his songs into her dreams. The instrument had accumulated a fine layer of dust, disturbing really, for it had been the only thing in the entire condo that had been kept under top care and maintenance while everything else accumulated clutter and dust bunnies.

Going over to the piano, Allison ran her fingers over the key cover, lifting it carefully. She saw her fingerprints left in the dust coating the cover. Annoyed, Allison retrieved a bottle of Pledge and a roll of paper towels. Cleaning the instrument, Allison felt a little better. Next, she cleaned the living room and the kitchen, then the bathrooms, and right when she was getting out the broom, she was interrupted.

"What are you doing?" Greg rubbed his eyes, having awoken to the clamber of Allison rustling about in the closet for the broom.

"Cleaning." She said simply, finding the broom at long last.

"Ally," his eyes were hooded as he squinted to see the clock, "baby, it's one in the morning."

Surprised, Allison looked at the clock and found that he was right. "I must have lost track of time!"

"I'll say." He took the broom from her hand and wrapped his free arm around her waist, "Come on, you need to get some sleep." Greg lead her to the bedroom.

"I'm not tired."

"You will be."

She registered defeat at that statement and let him lead her to the bedroom where Kane was lying on the bed looking annoyed. Together they curled under the covers and let Kane's body heat warm their toes.

"I miss hearing you play the piano." Allison said, turning onto her side to look at him.

"Oh?" He turned over to look at her through the darkness of the room.

"Yeah," she cuddled against him, wrapping her arms around his body, "and I miss a lot of other things."

"Like what?" He let his own arms encircle her.

She shrugged, "I don't know. It just feels like a lot of things changed after we got married." She confessed, "I'm not sure what they all are, but there's something different about us."

"Could it be that I'm not being a lazy ass and letting you do everything?" He asked teasingly.

"Maybe that could be part of it." She sighed, "I just wish I could wrap my brain around what I'm feeling."

"Maybe you're nesting." He teased, "Trying to get a slice of the Leave it to Beaver life. You playing the role of the doting wife and stay at home mom. Ally, you know you'll resent it after the first few months of being on maternity leave. You're not the stay at home type. You're the up in everyone's business trying to change the world type."

She smiled in amusement, "Yeah."

"You want to do everything 'cause you think you're a failure if you let someone help you."

"Preaching to the choir." She sing songed.

"Yeah." He agreed, "I keep feeling the same way. Like I'm letting you do all the hard stuff. Hell, I didn't even want to let you go grocery shopping by yourself!"

Laughing, Allison cuddled closer to him, "You're as defective as I am with the false reality of the single income household."

"How is it that the media has brainwashed us into thinking that we're letting down some stereotype?" Greg mumbled as he brushed his nose against her hair, "I think that's what to blame, Tv."

Allison snorted, "You'd never give it up, and you know it." She stuck her tongue out at him, managing to lick his chin in the process.

"Oh," Greg wiped her trail of saliva from his face, "that was sexy."

"Completely unintentional, I assure you."

"Well, if we're going to put up the pretense of the "good old days", does that mean we need separate twin beds?" Greg teased.

"Baby, we'd be pushing them back together every night."

"Not while you're pregnant." He smirked, "We haven't had sex in nearly a week."

"Maybe that's what's wrong with us." She sighed, "We're sex deprived."

"And _now_ you're tired. I mention sex and you're ready to fall asleep. How's that for a bad omen?" Greg swatted her rear playfully.

"Fuck you." Allison hugged him closer.

"Fuck you too." Greg wrapped his arms around her tighter.

"In the morning." She yawned again and fell asleep.

"I'll hold you to that." He assured her as he began to lull into sleep as well. "Love you."

TBC

A/N- Thanks for waiting :D Review please-Andi 


	12. AN

To my devoted readers:

Although I know most of you have moved on, I decided that I was long overdue for admitting defeat. Both Parasitic and Mentor have been discontinued, and I have no ambitions to continue either of them. I apologize for the long wait of gaining closure, but I have been struggling to force myself into completing them without cheating any of you. Unfortunately, attempting to continue _would_ be a slap in all of your faces because I wouldn't put forth the time and effort the stories deserved to conclude.

For those of you who are going, "WtF, Andi? You're just going to give up and leave us all hanging? You're such a stupid bitch." Yeah, I guess I am a stupid bitch, but I've come to terms with that, and have reconciled an ultimatum. I've promised myself to never post another story that has not been finished before posting begins. Unfortunately, my new inspirations are not tied to House M.D, and I will never write another House fic.

I'm not sure yet if I plan on keeping the available chapters posted. I'd hate for new readers to stumble upon my stories and receive the same disappointment all of you have endured. So, perhaps I'll give you all a deadline if anyone wants to save my stories for future pleasure of reading. Let's say at the end of this month. On October 1st, I will be removing these stories (Including Contagious) by then.

Again, thank you for your loyalty and support over the course of my writings rise and decline, birth and death. I don't know when I'll publish again, but I do promise that if anyone decides to read my stories again (that is if any of you are into my latest obsessions) the stories _will_ conclude.

Goodbye everyone, and thanks for your faith. I'm sorry that I ended up being undeserving of it.

-Andi


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